Rain plays spoilsport on opening day
With Chepauk semi-submerged by torrential rain, the match officials called off play at 11:30am local time
Cricinfo staff
02-Dec-2005
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With Chepauk semi-submerged by torrential rain, the match officials called off play at 11:30am local time. Assuming that the rain stayed away, and the sodden turf dried in time, play would start at 9am on the remaining days, with a minimum of 97 overs to be bowled every day. With forecasts predicting further downpours over the next 24 hours, this was likely to become a three-day lottery, with overcast conditions and a pitch full of cracks promising some condensed entertainment.
The shower began around 10am local time, but overnight and early morning showers meant that the start was delayed anyway. With the pre-match talk hovering mainly around Cyclone Baaz, stationed in the Bay of Bengal, around 300 km from the ground and expected to hit the south-eastern coast of India within the next 24 hours, the match was always tipped to be curtailed by rain. The last three international games played here have been affected by rain and, with the imminent threat of the cyclone, the trend was bound to continue.