Australia were keen to continue after the rain break even though conditions were not favourable for fielding, and India didn't want to continue with the bat, which clearly showed which team enjoyed the upperhand in the first One-Day International in Bangalore on Saturday.
On a high after the Twenty20 World Cup victory, India were brought crashing to earth by Australia, courtesy a magnificent rearguard action from Michael Clarke, who smashed his way to a brilliant 130.
It was a magnificent recovery by Australia after they were reeling at 90 for 4 at one stage. Brad Haddin (69) and Clarke stitched together a 144-run partnership and provided a perfect example of how to bat in the middle overs. On the other hand, the Indian bowling attack looked totally ineffective once the ball became a bit old.
As captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni himself admitted, the Indian bowlers found it hard in the middle overs when the ball stopped moving. India needs to work on this particular area to gain an advantage early on.
The pitch at Kochi, the venue for the second one-day international, is traditionally known to be loaded in favour of batsmen. And it will be no different this time around as well, but the weather could play havoc.
Just like the first ODI in Bangalore was washed out because of rain, you could witness something similar here; in fact there could be no action at all.
It rained a lot in Kochi this month, leaving the groundsmen not much time to work on the outfield and pitch. Though the rain relented over the last four days, the outfield still needs a lot of patch work. It s completely bare and soggy, and a huge amount of sand has been used to cover the damp areas. There is virtually no grass covering and whatever is left is dead and dry.
The organisers are hoping that there is no rain the next two days, else the chances of the match being staged look really slim. The city witnessed some showers through Sunday; though light it could still prove dampening to their efforts.
The Indian and Australian teams arrive in Kochi on Sunday evening and it will be interesting to see how they look at the conditions at the Nehru stadium.
However, the organisers are confident that if it doesn't rain till the start of the game, they could get the outfield and pitch ready for the match.
The weather forecast though is not encouraging, as more rain and thunderstorms are predicted for the next few days.
As witnessed in Bangalore, losing a match to weather is very frustrating for everyone. Not only do the players hate it, but also the fans, as their time and money goes waste.
As Clarke rightly said about his sizzling knock in Bangalore: "It is good to score a hundred, but I guess it is a bit of waste."
One just hopes that the rain stays away so that we have a full game in Kochi.
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