Bangalore Test called off due to washout
When Wednesday (November 18) morning didn’t so much dawn as peep through the grey, anyone who had any faint hope that there would finally be some on-field action in India’s second Test against South Africa in Bangalore, would have resigned themselves to another day of sitting around and either waiting for the rain to stop or for the outfield to dry.
As it transpired, there wasn’t as much sitting around as on the last three days, with the umpires ruling after an 11.30am inspection – the second after one at 10am – that the day’s play, and therefore the match, at M Chinnaswamy Stadium would be called off.
This marked the first-ever instance of four days of a Test match being washed out in India, and the 81 overs that were possible on the first day were the second-lowest ever for a Test in India, behind only the 71.1 overs that were bowled when India faced New Zealand in October 1995 in Chennai.
The wet conditions meant the Test match had only three sessions of play, all on an action-packed first day, after which the next four days were spent sitting and watching a steady rain interrupted by steady drizzles or brief dry spells, to render AB de Villiers’s 100th Test match a damp squib.
The match had promised much with the anticipation of de Villiers playing a landmark Test in front of a crowd that has grown to adore him like – or even better than – their own, and the first day lived up to that billing, with chants of “ABD, ABD” ringing out the loudest.
South Africa had been bowled out for 214 in 59 overs on the first day, with de Villiers shouldering the responsibility of the innings with a typically magnificent 85 that was marked by as much exhilarating strokeplay as watchfulness against the R Ashwin (4 for 70) and Ravindra Jadeja (4 for 50) combine. In the 22 overs that India got to bat, Shikhar Dhawan stroked his way back into some form with 45 not out while M Vijay remained unbeaten on a fluid 22, taking India to 80 for no loss and further extending the dominance established in the first Test that the home side had won by 108 runs.
It was all to no avail, though, and the teams will now head to Nagpur for the third Test starting on November 25 with India still 1-0 up and the series still open.
On Day 5, the ground was under covers from the start. The first inspection at 10am ensured there would be no play till lunch at least, and the umpires decided the best thing to do was to call off play at the next inspection.
The rain came and went in spurts all through, though after the match was called off there was enough of a dry spell to allow KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan some centre-wicket practice with Sanjay Bangar, the batting coach, delivering throwdowns.
But for another set of enthusiastic schoolchildren and a few optimistic fans who thought there would be some cricket – that was the only bat on ball play they got to see.