The chances of the second One-Day International between India and Australia being staged at the Nehru stadium in Kochi look slim after heavy rain lashed the city on Monday morning.
The organisers are however hopeful even though they know that barring a miracle there could be no play on Tuesday. The outfield had already taken a lot of beating from persistent rain in September and the groundsmen had no time to restore it. Rain over the last couple of days made it practically impossible to work on the outfield.
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Images: India, Australia teams in Kochi
Both teams cancelled their practice sessions in the morning because of the wet outfield.
Australia captain Adam Gilchrist, who inspected the ground in the morning, admitted that a few areas on the outfield are cause for concern.
"The ground is very heavy and there are a few areas of concern, but they are working hard and it is hard to tell. If there is hopefully no more rain then there is a good chance of play," he said in Kochi on Monday.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Indian team manager Lalchand Rajput.
"I had gone to the ground along with Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh.
There is a lot of water in the outfield but so many people are working hard. They are saying that if there is bright sunshine, then, hopefully [we could have a game]. So we are keeping our fingers crossed," Rajput said.
For the Indian team, the good news is that Harbhajan Singh has been declared fit for the second match.
"Harbhajan is much better today. He did some gym work and he is feeling much better. He is match fit," Rajput said.
However, Sourav Ganguly will miss the match because of a hamstring injury he sustained during the first ODI.
"As we have already said, the MRI scan has not shown anything, no tear; there is only stiffness. So, hopefully, he will be fit by the next game.
"John Gloster has said that if he given rest for a game, he will be much better for the next match," Rajput added.
Gilchrist explained how frustrating it was just waiting in the hotel room for the weather to hold.
"It is frustrating for both teams, but the key part is that both teams are affected in similar fashion. So it is not like that one team is getting the advantage of training while the other team is not. It is the same for both teams and all we can do is try and adapt to the scenario. We will all do what we can today to get ourselves ready physically and getting ourselves right," he said.
Gilchrist, who is stand-in captain for the injured Ricky Ponting, warned his team not to take their mind off cricket even though it is likely that the match may not take place.
"The tricky situation, and all reports are that there is going to be no chance and rain will keep coming. You got to be careful not to totally switch off and almost get into a holiday mode and all of a sudden be out there play a one-day international. We will keep preparing with team meeting, team planning meeting, physically keep ourselves right and fully expect to play that's all we can do. If it doesn't happen it doesn't happen," Gilchrist said.
The first match in Bangalore was also washed out. Australia, riding on
Michael Clarke's century, scored a huge 307 for 7 in their 50 overs and then reduced India to 9 for 1 in 2.4 overs before heavy rain washed out further play.
"I think every game in every series is generally crucial. Both teams would have loved to win a couple of nights ago just to get the momentum in the series but it didn't turn out that way. And tomorrow's [game] even if that is washed out then both teams would want to win whenever it is even if it comes down to a three-game series. So I don't see any added pressure; they are all gonna be high intensity games and should make for good cricket," the left-hander said.
Meanwhile, an official of the Kerala Cricket Association said the chances of the game happening are very remote after the spell of rain in the morning.
"They would take some time to take the water off the covers. Then they have to remove the covers and try to dry out the wet areas and then patch work. There is a lot of work to be done. It does seem very difficult," he said.
