World T20: Rain, Thunderstorm Threaten India-Pakistan Clash at Eden Gardens
Two hours before toss of the World T20 India-Pakistan clash in Kolkata, the rains were back. Earlier in the day, there were heavy rains
Rain and thunderstorm, two hours ahead of toss of the India-Pakistan World T20 match was proving to be a damper on Saturday evening. In case of a washout at Eden Gardens, the teams will split points. India face a must-win situation having lost their first match against New Zealand on Tuesday. (India vs Pakistan World T20: Five Key Battles To Watch Out For)
The city was lashed by heavy rains earlier on Saturday morning. The match starts at 7.30 pm, and fans would be hoping that the much awaited clash is not ruined by the elements.
LIVE on #Periscope: This is #IndvsPak. India are off to the Eden Gardens #WT20 https://t.co/m9kpVvn7ho
- BCCI (@BCCI) March 19, 2016
It was cloudy since 6 am onwards, and it started raining around 9am with great intensity. It rained for one hour, before the sun made a brief appearance and then overcast conditions were back. Bot the match faces no rain threat, according to the Eden Gardens groundstaff. (India vs Pakistan in World T20: Just a Game of Cricket or Much More Than That?)
Storms in Calcutta at this time of the year usually comes from the North-west, hitting the city late in the afternoon or evening. (India vs Pakistan World Twenty20: Hosts Hold Big Edge Over Arch-Rivals)
Eden Gardens poor drainage has been a perennial problem, one which has resulted in various international and Indian Premier League (IPL) matches to be washed out during this time of the year.
The most recent instance of a match being washed out at Eden was on October 8, 2015, when the T20 tie between India and South Africa had to be abandoned without a ball being bowled.
However, since then the Eden Gardens has gone through a few major changes. A booster shot of sand has been injected into the stadium's turf to make rain-water seep underground quickly and keep the surface from becoming slushy.
A new super sopper machine, used to dry the ground, also arrived last Sunday, taking the total super sopper count at the Eden Gardens to five.
(With inputs from Nikhil Naz)