Persistent rain forces cancellation of Day One play in warm-up match between PM’s XI and Indians; both teams agree to play 50-over game on Sunday
Match officials inspect the ground
And just like that, what was supposed to be a two-day warm-up game with a pink ball has now been reduced to a 50-overs-a-side affair at the Manuka Oval.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rohit Sharma’s Indians, as much as a Prime Minister’s XI led by Jack Edwards and the Indian diaspora in the Australian capital, were looking forward to this day-night encounter with great anticipation, but the elements proved a dampener on Saturday, forcing play to be called off without a ball being bowled.
Honouring the PM
It had been raining almost incessantly from late on Friday night — not lashing showers, but drizzles oscillating between the mild and the more severe — and there was little chance of play even when the morning dawned bleak and dreary. The only reason the two teams went to the ground in the first place was to honour a commitment to meet Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister of Australia who had hosted the teams on Thursday evening and who handed over caps to the players in the PM’s XI.
Oz PM Anthony Albanese is gifted a signed hat by India captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday. Pic/Getty Images
In normal course, the weather would have provided welcome relief to Canberra residents, who had been in the throes of a heat wave until earlier this week. But their delight when the Indians touched down here from Perth on Wednesday night gave way to disappointment when, after repeated inspections, the umpires decided to call off play at 6:30 pm local time.
Also Read: It’s fans and frolic as excited crowd turns Manuka Oval into mini India
By mutual consent, the teams agreed to play a one-day game, weather permitting, on the morrow, more to keep the crowd entertained than to get any meaningful practice. This was meant to be India’s only run out in a competitive setting before the pink-ball Test in Adelaide from December 6, and though the batters in particular have been deprived the chance of acclimatising to a somewhat heavier ball because of the pronounced lacquer, all is not doom and gloom.
Weather woes persist
Canberra hasn’t had a great relationship with international sides in recent times. This February, West Indies played a ODI against Steve Smith’s Australians, but the day-night contest lasted exactly 31 overs. Xavier Bartlett, the right-arm fast-medium bowler who had debuted just four nights previously, grabbed four for 21 to send Shai Hope’s men crashing to 86 all out in just 24.1 overs. Jake Fraser-McGurk then cut loose, smashing five fours and three sixes on his way to an 18-ball 41 that muscled the hosts home with 43.1 overs to spare. As delighted as the home crowd was with the result, it felt it hadn’t got its money’s worth, given how quickly the non-contest ended.
Now, they will hope for a clearer Sunday and at least a full 50-over game. The Indians are very popular visitors and even Albanese spent a fair amount of time exchanging notes with Rohit and Virat Kohli, among others. India did play white-ball internationals in Canberra during their full tour of Australia in 2020-21 – it was here that they registered their first win of the tour in the final ODI on December 2 and followed it up with another victory in the first T20I on December 4 — and will, hopefully, get another chance to entertain the fans on Sunday.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
