Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Rain forces Mumbai ODI to be called off

Last updated on: November 11, 2009 20:27 IST

Covers on at the DY Patil stadiumThe seventh and final One-day International between India and Australia in Mumbai was called off following incessant rain that lashed the city on Wednesday.

The umpires, after inspecting the ground at the DY Patil stadium at 1700 IST, finally decided to call off the match.

The match at the Navi Mumbai venue, which was set to stage its first ODI, was only of academic interest as Australia had taken an unassailable 4-2 lead in the seven-match series lead after winning the low-scoring sixth ODI at Guwahati on November 8.

The visitors came back strongly from a 1-2 deficit, winning three consecutive matches -- in Mohali, Hyderabad and Guwahati -- to seal the series.

Though the pitch and surrounding areas were covered, play was impossible as the outfield was soggy and waterlogged at some places.

The teams did not even come to the ground as a steady drizzle since morning grew in intensity hours before the scheduled 1430 IST start of the match.

Though it stopped raining at about 1600 IST, and mop-up operations got underway immediately, more rain just before a scheduled inspection at 1700 was enought for umpires Asoka De Silva of Sri Lanka and Amish Saheba of India to call of the match.

Australia, thus, maintained their superiority over India in bilateral ODI rubbers for nearly 20 years. It was in 1986-87 that India beat the visiting Australians 3-2.

In the two subsequent bilateral limited-over series between the two countries before the current one, Australia beat India 3-2 (best-of-five) in 2000-01 and 4-2 (best-of-seven) in 2007-08.

The visitors, who pocketed the current series 4-2 despite being ravaged by injuries to many of their key players, leave for home early Thursday morning.

Earlier in the day, a cyclone alert was sounded by the Meteorological Department across north Maharashtra and south Gujarat, besides coastal areas, in the wake of a deep depression over the Arabian Sea. The Met office said Mumbai and Thane districts would receive heavy to very heavy rain for the next 24 hours.