For now, this is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Deepak Prakash and Ghanendra Singh Thakur saying goodbye. Keep following CREX for more cricketing action from around the globe. See you soon!
Alas, our desiderium ends in disappointment. But hey! There is always hope for a better future. Another fixture is lined up for the evening — Central Delhi Kings vs Outer Delhi Warriors. Hopefully, the weather will relent by then and we will have some action.
The weather relented a couple of times, giving everyone hope of getting some action underway, and the ground staff did a tremendous job to get the conditions ready. We even had the toss and start times in place, but the rain kept returning time and again, adding to the frustration of the fans and the groundsmen, who were repeatedly forced to restart the same process. The match officials waited patiently for a considerable amount of time, but the persistent heavy rain eventually left them with no choice but to call off the game. Both teams will have to settle for a point each
5:02 PM IST, Local Time: ABANDONED! The rain has the final say in the opening game of Saturday's double-header. This is now the third consecutive match abandoned due to rain, with both teams walking away with a point each.
4:37 PM IST, Local Time: Oh dear, we are back where we started. The covers are being brought on again, which is another setback in our hopes of getting play underway soon. Dark clouds are gathering around the stadium from both ends, and the groundsmen are wasting no time. The entire square is being covered, with additional covers coming on to protect the entire ground. It has started pelting down at the Arun Jaitley Stadium now.
4:33 PM IST, Local Time: The main pitch has been covered with a blue tarpaulin sheet, and the umpires are out in the middle to inspect the conditions and assess the situation.
4:25 PM IST, local time: The covers have been removed completely. The sky still looks overcast but it is NOT raining right now. We are still awaiting an official update regarding the start time. We have lost a considerable amount of time already, and there is no doubt now that this will be a shortened game.
4:05 PM IST, local time: A significant chunk of covers have been removed. The DJ has started blasting some music, much to the delight of the fans present in the stands. Though, there is still plenty of work for the ground staff to do. Nearly half of the field is still under tarpaulin sheets.
3:54 PM IST, Local Time: The covers are slowly being peeled off now. There is a significant amount of water accumulated on the covers, and it will take some time for the ground staff to clear it and get the playing conditions ready.