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Day 1 of the opening Test between India and New Zealand was washed out due to incessant rain at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, October 16. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that the toss will take place at 8.45 am IST on Day 2 subject to weather conditions.
This is the second consecutive Test for the Men in Blue where rain has played spoilsport. Earlier, wet outfield and rain forced no action for more than two days in the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur, which India ultimately won by seven wickets.
Fans on X slammed the BCCI for improper scheduling of Test cricket in the monsoon season. One user wrote:
"A disappointing start to the series. But we can still look forward to a thrilling match tomorrow."
Another user wrote:
"@BCCI should think properly before selecting venues for the series. - This was the 2nd time in this month match day got interpreted due to bad weather."
A third user added:
"Fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow."
Here are a few more reactions:
According to BBC Weather, rain is predicted on the remaining four days of the Test match as well. There is up to 70 percent chance of rainfall with thundery shows and light winds on Day 2. The temperature will hover around 24 to 26 degrees celcius but the real feel will be 32 to 35 degrees.
![Weather forecast for Bengaluru. [Pic credits: BBC]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/10/b7d05-17290742394791-1920.jpg)
"We want to create a bench strength" - India captain Rohit Sharma on significance of Test series vs New Zealand
India captain Rohit Sharma recently spoke about the importance of the three-match Test series against New Zealand ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The 38-year-old wants India to create bench strength in the bowling unit after Mohammed Shami was ruled out of the series due to knee swelling. He told the reporters (via ESPNcricinfo):
"We want to create a bench strength where tomorrow if anything happens to anyone, we are not worried, and we don't want to be worried or too heavily reliant on a few individuals. That's not the right thing to do."
He continued:
"We want to look at the future at the same time, try and make sure that we get the right guys in as well. We want to create guys where even if there are injuries, we have got someone to quickly step in and take that role.
"It's not about three or four options. We want to try and do that like, you know, when it comes to batting, there are a lot of options. We want to create the same with the bowlers as well."
India’s squad for the three Tests against New Zealand: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep.
