Rain continues to lash Kolkata

Rain played spoilsport to the preparations of both India and Australia and there’s a possibility that the second one-day international between the two sides could also be a truncated affair like the one in Chennai two day ago.

Heavy rain on Tuesday morning forced the Australians to train indoors while the Indian team, scheduled to train from late afternoon, cancelled their session as the entire ground remained covered throughout the day. It rained in the afternoon and the evening too, although with much lesser intensity.

Weather forecast for the city, bustling with energy and plenty of activity for next week’s Durga Puja, is not a great news as well. The Regional Meteorological Centre-Kolkata has predicted rainfall and overcast conditions until the weekend, something which the fans will be hoping is proven wrong on Thursday.

Owing to the dark clouds hovering around the Eden Gardens, the ground staff here hasn’t been able to remove the covers and do the last-minute touch up the pitch needs. The square requires good sunshine to behave as intended but the lack of it could see it playing differently.

The Eden Gardens strip which was relaid last year surprised everyone with its pace and bounce during the India-New Zealand Test match last September and even the ODI between the hosts and England this January. But with surface remaining under covers, the moisture underneath may turn it into a slow turner. And if there is lack of bounce, it will be interesting to see if India bring in Ravindra Jadeja in place of chinaman Kuldeep Yadav who needs bounce off the pitch to stay effective. Jadeja, on the other hand, with his stump to stump line can make a bigger impact.