Last Updated on 15 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
Rain is likely to play a factor yet again in the New Zealand-India ODI series, with inclement weather forecast in Hamilton on Tuesday.
Rain has affected the first two ODIs between New Zealand and India in Auckland and Wellington respectively. India’s run chase was interrupted at Eden Park before reaching the DLS revised target of 143 with 56 deliveries to spare. Conditions were worse at Hnry Stadium with a delayed start, constant interruptions and no thrilling finish as India scraped home by four runs on DLS.
Hamilton weather for NZ vs IND 3rd ODI: Chances of a result look grim with consistent rain forecast
The forecast for Hamilton looks worse than what it was for Auckland and Wellington. BBC Weather predicts “thundery showers and a moderate breeze” with more than a 75% chance of precipitation all day.
AccuWeather forecasts “rain, heavy at times” with a 99% chance of precipitation during the day. A whopping 45.4mm of rain is expected to fall, making any play in the third ODI a distant possibility.
New Zealand has had consistent rainfall all over the country in recent days. Sunday was a mostly sunny day in Hamilton which allowed their groundstaff to prepare the pitch and outfield for the third ODI.
The rainy conditions have led to the bowler-friendly surfaces seen in Auckland and Wellington. If there is any play in Hamilton, expect another seam-friendly pitch due to the time under covers.
“New Zealand’s been pretty wet over the last few days, and we’ve had quite a lot of rain here yesterday, so we’ve lost out some time but we’ve been able to get the pitch ready,” said Karl Johnson, the head groundsman at Seddon Park, as quoted by Cricinfo.
“Good day today, beautiful day today, Sunday, matchday minus two. Forecast isn’t great for tomorrow and matchday is not flash either, so we’re trying to fast-track our pitch, because when they sit under our covers, they do sweat a bit. So yeah, the weather’s been challenging for all the other guys around the country too.”
