Rain played spoilsport on Day 1 of the first Test between India and New Zealand.© AFP
The rain played spoilsport in more ways than one on Day 1 of the first Test between India and New Zealand at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Consistent rain throughout the day led to play being called off without a ball being bowled or even the toss taking place on Day 1. However, even though the rain stopped at times, there was another technological issue that further held back play. The hawk-eye system – crucial in the working of the Decision Review System (DRS) – could not be formatted into the ground due to the rain.
As revealed by former India cricketer-turned-pundit Saba Karim on air, the hawk-eye system can only be implemented and formatted into the ground once the covers are removed. Rain prior to the game, as well as during Day 1, meant that the formatting process could not take place. The formatting takes about an hour and a half, as per Saba Karim. At no point during the day did the covers stay removed for such a long duration, making start of play next to impossible.
The inability to put in the hawk-eye system led to play being called off earlier on Day 1. While not much rain is predicted in the late hours of Wednesday, October 16, rain is expected to play spoilsport in Day 2 as well. At least two hours of rain is predicted by Accuweather.com at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday, October 17.
— Kartik Kannan (@kartik_kannan) October 16, 2024Saba Karim made a comment on Jio just now.
A) Hawk Eye is not ready. Apparently they need to format it a day before the game. Since it rained yesterday, they didn't get time. So today, once the covers come off, they will require 90-120 minutes post that to start.
B) The super… pic.twitter.com/wSCbfeH7gb
40% precipitation is expected, while cloud cover is predicted to be a constant throughout Day 2 as well. In fact, rain is predicted on all five days of the Test match.
India come into the three-match home series as firm favourites, sitting comfortably at the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings. New Zealand, on the other hand, are sixth, and have never won an away Test in WTC history.