India Blue vs India Red, at Greater Noida, Aug 29 2016 - Ball by Ball Commentary

5.30pm That's it folks! Play has been called off. Both teams get a point each. The umpires strode out for an inspection even as the super soppers were doing the rounds, but the damage was just too much for the outfield to be readied for play. We have had only 345 minutes of play over the course of the four days.

What that means is Red are through to the final with seven points after two games. The one point for Blue puts them ahead of Green, who suffered an outright defeat to Red. That makes the next match, between Blue and Green a virtual semifinal. Worth noting, though, that that match will once again take place in Greater Noida. Another washout will knock Green out as Blue would advance by virtue of the additional point in this match. The outright loss has hurt Green, and they will hope for a full four days of play. The final, too, is scheduled to take place at the same venue, and let's hope for better weather. Join us on September 4 for Blue v Green then. Until then, it's goodbye!

4.30pm Still 30 minutes away from the inspection. Meanwhile, here's a peek into something from the past. The 2015 World Cup semifinal match between New Zealand and South Africa was arguably the match of the tournament, and that image of Grant Elliott extending a hand to the fallen Dale Steyn after South Africa's exit was one for the ages. Sadly, though, the match would eventually be marred by selection politics, after there was unhappiness within members of the South African camp due to Vernon Philander's inclusion ahead of Kyle Abbott. AB de Villiers has come out with his disappointment before, but now, we get to hear first hand how he felt about the whole chapter. De Villiers' recollection of the events on that day, and more, are out after the launch of AB: The Autobiography in Johannesburg today.

3.55pm Just over an hour to go for the inspection. To keep you engaged until then, here's the September edition of the The Cricket Monthly magazine.

3.15pm The rains have caused enough damage to leave us with less than two sessions on the final day. Still under two hours for the inspection.

anu: "why can't they check the forecast weather report before conducting these matches" It's monsoon in India, so finding a venue where it doesn't rain is quite hard. And, besides, this tournament is more of a prep for the Test season that gets underway soon. Would have been hard to slot this in any other window, given the summer was taken up by the IPL and India had a tour of the West Indies following that. Also to remember that the BCCI's intention was to have India's Test regulars play this tournament and pass on their feedback about the pink ball, so this was the only time suitable due to the month-long gap between the West Indies and New Zealand Tests.

Meanwhile, the pink ball is all set to make its first appearance in first-class cricket in another part of the world. One round of matches in the 2016-17 Plunket Shield, New Zealand's premier first-class tournament, will be held under lights. That will be one of two firsts, with the Westpac Stadium in Wellington preparing to host its maiden first-class game.

Eight out of the 10 Test-playing countries have already had a feel of the pink ball. Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are the only ones that are yet to venture into the experiment. You can check out its inaugural appearances in those parts of the world here, put together by Sirish Raghavan.

2.35pm On a lighter note, it wasn't until well past 8pm that play began on Tuesday, while Wednesday saw a 5.30pm start, which means the floodlights had fully taken effect on both days. So that's atleast one purpose of the day-night match served.

AV: "Why do they even play these games- just some flat pitches where every bowler gets toned for runs. Even mediocre batsmen like Ravindra Jadeja can score 3 triple centuries in matches like these, but end up not even reaching 3 30s in a tour. If at all these games are played, they should be in bowler friendly conditions to encourage bowlers. Otherwise bowlers will lose the zeal and enthusiasm to bowl in tests except if he is a spinner of course." Well, let's see if the BCCI's move to have Ranji Trophy matches at neutral venues addresses this issue. Aakash Chopra thinks the move will help better develop cricketers for the future.

Day 4, 1.45pm Things haven't improved much on day four, the final day of the second match of the 2016-17 Duleep Trophy between India Blue and India Red. The rain has refused to relent. We have already lost well more than a session's play, and, remember, the first innings is yet to be completed. There will be an inspection at 5pm.

34.2, 27.4 and 16.2 - That's the number of overs that have been possible on each of the first three days respectively. What that pattern shows is lesser play with each passing day. It does paint a sorry picture and live pictures aren't too encouraging. The umpires have already had a look and were out inspecting earlier in the day. There is a persistent drizzle, so first for the rain to stop. The groundstaff has done its best to cover as much of the ground as possible. Mind you, it has absolutely pelted over the last three days, so keeping the conditions safe for play will be some task.

In whatever little play that has happened, there has been a pattern established. The first day belonged to the Blue openers Gautam Gambhir and Mayank Agarwal who batted all 34 overs and gave Blue a strong start. Red's bowlers fought back on the second day through Kuldeep Yadav who tied them in knots with his googlies, but Dinesh Karthik and Sheldon Jackson rebuilt nicely in yesterday's short passage.

8.05pm Bad news, folks. Play has been called off for the day. Just 16.2 overs possible on Day 3. Sheldon Jackson impressed in the time that was possible, with Dinesh Karthik also looking solid. With the amount of time we've lost, even a first-innings decider seems extremely unlikely. Play is expected to start 15 minutes early, at 1.45pm but more rains are forecast. Worry not, we'll bring you all the action as and when it unfolds. Until then, it's goodbye from the commentary desk.

7.50pm We should have started the final session 20 minutes ago, but there's no sign of play starting just yet. Covers on. Outfield has taken a beating again. We'll keep you posted.

6.47pm It has started raining. Did we see this coming? Not really. Did the umpires see it coming? Probably not. The ground staff, who were sitting by the ropes in the hopes of having their feet up for the rest of the evening have to suddenly rush in with the covers. 60 percent of the ground has been covered in less than a minute. Players aren't exactly ducking for cover. So that probably spells out hope that we may not have a long delay. Dinner beak will be taken

from around the stumps now