Bangladesh v India, 3rd ODI, Chittagong

Match called off due to rain

Cricinfo staff

May 15, 2007

Rahul Dravid and Habibul Bashar inspect the pitch at Chittagong. Heavy cyclonic rain forced the match to be called off without a ball being bowled © AFP

Habibul Bashar's last ODI at home, and Dav Whatmore's final ODI as Bangladesh coach, ended even before it could start, as heavy downpours over the last 36 hours forced the umpires to call off the third and final one-dayer at Chittagong without a ball being bowled. India thus wrapped up the series 2-0.

The conditions cleared up in the morning - the sun was out when the umpires came out for their final inspection at 1pm local time - but the damage had already been done by the rains through most of Monday. Though the pitch and the square itself was in good condition, the outfield had received plenty of rain and large parts of it were still unfit for play. The umpires confirmed that the groundstaff would need about two more hours to ensure that the outfield was in playable condition, but that would go past the cut-off time of 2.20pm.

The result was a disappointment for the full house that had thronged the Chittagong Divisional Stadium since morning. The series had already been decided, but there was an opportunity for Bangladesh to regain some pride, and for India to try out some of their players who hadn't got a game so far. Cyclone Akash, though, put paid to those hopes - the rains had caused large puddles in the outfield, which forced the umpires to put off their first inspection till 12 noon. The situation improved in the afternoon, which briefly raised hopes of a 20-over match, but with the sun not staying out for long enough periods, there was little opportunity for the ground conditions to improve.

With the forecast not encouraging for the next few days, expect the weather to cause more interruptions during the first Test, which will be played at the same venue from Friday.

© Cricinfo

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