The Met department had forecast mild to heavy showers in and around Ranchi on Wednesday. They knew it might rain and the much awaited game could either get stopped or abandoned.
However, for cricket lovers of Ranchi all roads lead to the JSCA International Cricket Stadium, where India were all set to take on Australia after the frustrating defeat in the third ODI.
The match was finally called off due to heavy rains that started around 6:20 pm and continued till the time of filing of this report.
While the dark clouds kept hovering over Ranchi in the forenoon hundreds groups of spectators were seen making their way towards the HEC based stadium. Flocks of people were seen buying the tricolor, caps and other flashy objects for the match at squares and turnarounds. The enthusiasm running high among the fans could be gauged with the fact that all major roads leading towards the stadium remained jampacked for more than an hour.
The match began at the scheduled time 1:30 pm with winning the toss and deciding to bowl first. The stadium was almost full by 2 pm with 80 per cent of the seats were filled by viewers. Although the clouds had made the lights dim and flood lights were switched on in the afternoon itself due to bad light, stadium was full with cheers and sloganeering which echoed one sound at a go —”DHONI, DHONI, DHONI….”.
The weather gods then played a trick as light showers put the match on hold for about 25 minutes between 2:05 pm and 2:30 pm. However, the spectators kept calm and waited patiently for the game to resume. “I have taken a day’s leave to watch Dhoni’s men taking the revenge of Mohali in Ranchi. This match cannot just be dampened by rains, we are waiting for India’s triumph to waive the tricolor in Ranchi,’ said Shishir Kumar, a young Bank Executive from Ranchi.
However, Kumar’s wishes remained unfulfilled as it again became pouring in at around 6; 20 pm after Australia gave India a target of 295 in 50 overs.
Before the rains began India’s opening pair Shikhar dhawan and Rohit Sharma had scored 27 runs in 4.1 overs.After continuous pouring, the umpires took stock of the situation at around 8 :25 pm and found that the ground was too wet to resume the game. The match was finally called off at around 8: 45 pm.
According to Met department the rain was because of a`system during post monsoon season. A`low pressure area has been formed over Bengal and near Andhra Pradesh’s coast as a result of which there were untimely showers in Ranchi and adjacent areas. The retreating monsoon has already left Jharkhand and moved southwards.
The department also informed that 2.2mm rainfall was recorded by 7:45 pm and it is expected to have 5 mm rainfall till next morning 8:30 am.After the announcement disheartened cricket fans were seen returning towards their homes. “We were expecting an emphatic victory this time, especially when Mahi plays at his homeground. Bad weather has snached victory from India but we hope the team will bounce back,’ said Kamal Shahdeo an old pal and former cricket colleague of Dhoni.