IND vs ENG 1st Test: Rain plays spoilsport on Day One at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium

Star India batter Virat Kohli walks across the field under an umbrella at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore yesterday. Pic/AFP

Next month, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium will complete 50 years as a Test venue. The first match at this ground was played from 22 November 1974, when India took on West Indies in the opening game of a five-match series. It was the match that introduced the world to the genius of Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge, who was run out for 93 in the first innings and slammed a hundred in the second as the visitors surged to a commanding 267-run victory and a 1-0 victory.

In the last half-decade, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium has blossomed into one of the better maintained cricket grounds in the country, and the only one in the world which has the Sub-Air drainage system which employs a two-pronged strategy of sucking water from the outfield and blowing hot air through underground pipes to ensure rapid drying of the ground once it stops raining.

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Forecasters get it right

On Wednesday, though, it hardly stopped raining for a reasonable spell of time. The forecasters got it absolutely right, forcing the abandonment of Day One of India's first Test against New Zealand without a ball being bowled. The formality of calling it a day didn't transpire until 2:30 pm, after which - unsurprisingly - it stopped raining altogether. By 3.15 pm, the covers protecting the 22-yard playing strip were pushed to one side to expose the pitch, which was scrutinised intensely by Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain. From a distance, the surface appeared very much unaffected by the precipitation, though having sweated under the covers for nearly three days, it ought to assist the faster bowlers as and when play does get underway. When that is, is anyone's guess, given that there is forecast for more rain on Thursday.

Indians practise indoors

The 25th Test at the Chinnaswamy will now at best be a four-day affair if the weather holds. Wednesday's frustrating day saw little activity on the part of the New Zealand squad, which arrived at the ground in the morning, watched the rain come down for a while and then returned to its hotel. The Indians had a slightly more productive day, with several batters, among them Virat Kohli, making a beeline to the indoor nets at the National Cricket Academy. Rohit lingered there long enough to be able to have a look at the playing surface late afternoon.