Fans in Bengaluru had a bad day as play was not possible on the first day of the first Test between India and New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Consistent rain meant that despite a good drainage system at the facility, play was not possible. One fan, who display name on X is Rohit Haldankar, was particularly unimpressed at the stadium facilities and posted an image of a dirty seat. “BCCI’s respect for the paying spectator beggars belief. This is a pic from the N Stand at Chinnaswamy Stadium,” he wrote.

BCCI’s respect for the paying spectator beggars belief.

This is a pic from the N Stand at Chinnaswamy Stadium.@BCCI#INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/mI71BUmS8f

— Rohit Haldankar (@rohit_haldankar) October 16, 2024

Yup…

— Rohit Haldankar (@rohit_haldankar) October 16, 2024

Day one of the first Test between India and New Zealand has been called off due to rain at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. The persistent rain, with its stop-start nature, left not enough time for the ground to be ready for the play to begin, leading to the day being called off early. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said the toss will take place at 8:45 am on Day 2 on Thursday.

It was also announced that 15 minutes have been added to each of the first and second sessions, with 98 overs to be bowled on day two. The morning session will begin at 9:15am and conclude at 11:30 am, following which teams will take a lunch break.

The afternoon session is scheduled to be played from 12:10 to 2:25 pm, and is followed by the tea break. The final session will take place from 2:45 to 4:45pm.

A win in all three Tests against New Zealand will enhance the chances of India sealing their qualification for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, to be held at Lord’s next year.

With IANS inputs 

Team India managed to draw out a victory inside two days as they took on Bangladesh in the final Test of the series in Kanpur. Rain and poor drainage system at the Green Pak Stadium frustrated fans and the two teams for the most part of the match. As India prepared to take on New Zealand in Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy stadium, starting Wednesday, the first day produced a disappointing picture, with rain washing out the first session. However, unlike the situation was Kanpur, Bengaluru’s excellent drainage system has fans’ hopes high.

It is already known that Chinnaswamy’s outfield isn’t a cause of concern for the two teams and officials as the venue’s the SubAir system can remove around 10000 litres of water per minute. The match can start in about 60 minutes from the time the rain stops.

As the topic of Chinnaswamy’s drainage system became a subject of chatter on social media, fans shared a brilliant video showcasing how effective the drainage system at the venue is.

Chinnaswamy Stadium has the best sub-air drainage and aeration system in the world

Let’s hope for the best#RCBvCSK #CSKvRCB #RCBvsCSK @RCBTweets pic.twitter.com/cj5h4WIfkf

— (@unknown_trio) May 17, 2024

As for the opening Test between India and New Zealand, even the toss, which was scheduled at 9 AM, could not take place as rain came down relentlessly over the city from morning. There was a smattering of spectators at the stadium despite the inclement weather.

But the only moment of excitement for them was the sighting of star batter Virat Kohli and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who went for an indoor net session along with assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. 

There remain expectations of some sort of play being possible on Day 1 of the opening match of the series. While India did manage to push and carve out a result in 2 days of play against Bangladesh, such an outcome might not be possible again.

With PTI Inputs

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are set to clash with Chennai Super Kings in probably their biggest game of the IPL 2024 season at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. With one playoffs spot up for grabs, RCB need nothing less than a resounding win to guarantee themselves a place in the top four. After losing seven of their first eight games, RCB have been on upward trajectory of late, winning five games on the bounce heading into the do-or-die fixture with CSK. They currently trail CSK by 2 points while their Net Run Rate is also slightly inferior.

However, rain threat looms over the crucial clash in Bengaluru with the local authorities issuing a ‘Yellow Alert’ in the city due to the bad weather conditions.

Bengaluru witnessed very little rain on Thursday and mostly cloudy weather on Friday. However, fans are unlikely to witness a full 20-overs-a-side contest on Saturday.

According to Accuweather, chances of rain are 87 percentage with a few thunderstorms in the evening. While there was no rain early in the morning, the weather is likely to get worse with passing time.

“Cloudy; a thunderstorm in parts of the area this evening followed by a shower late,” the forecast suggested. Temperature is likely to hover between 22-30 degree celsius.

In case of a washout, both the teams will be awarded one point each, taking CSK and RCB to 15 and 13 points respectively.

In that case, the defending champions will qualify for the playoffs.

CSK are currently fourth on the points table with 14 points from 13 matches while Royal Challengers Bengaluru are at seventh with 12 points from as many games. CSK also have a better net run rate of 0.528 than RCB’s 0.387.

To replace CSK in the top four race, RCB need to win the match by at least 18 runs if they score a minimum of 200 runs batting first or win in 18.1 overs if they are chasing 200.

The last time CSK and RCB met in the inaugural match of the IPL 2024, the Super Kings clinched a six-wicket win over Faf du Plessis‘ side.