Eclipse to delay start of play

celestial call

The second day of the Ranji Trophy contest between Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh will start an hour and 45 minutes later than the scheduled time of 9:30 am due to the solar eclipse.

The match referee - P Ranganath - in consultation with the Karnataka State Cricket Association has decided to defer the start time.

The maximum eclipse is expected to be seen at 10.47 am and should last for three minutes.

Though the eclipse will only be visible through parts of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the Haryana vs Jharkhand game in Jamshedpur will also see a delayed start. The game is expected to start at 12 pm with a one-hour extension.

It is learnt that the Board of Control for Cricket in India sent out a circular to all match referees on Tuesday afternoon.

As per the revised schedule for the game at the SDNR Wadiyar stadium, the first session will last 45 minutes after starting at 11:15 am. Lunch will be taken between 12 and 12:40 pm. The second session will conclude at 15:10 pm, and the final session will start at 15:30. They are expected to bowl 79 overs on the day.

Karun Nair, the Karnataka skipper, let on that the delayed start could be a disadvantage since Karnataka’s pace bowlers will lose out on early morning conditions.

“It can make a difference, but we can’t complain about that. It’s something that we have to deal with,” he voiced.

Apart from Karnataka-Himachal match, the Mumbai vs Railways match in Mumbai and Gujarat vs Kerela game in Rajkot will also start late by two hours.