World Cup 2019, Match 18 - India vs New Zealand - Match Abandoned

With an eye on continuing their winning start to the World Cup 2019, India and New Zealand will lock horns in the eighteenth match of the tournament. Both the teams have made solid start to their respective campaigns. New Zealand are currently at the top of the points table with three wins in as many games. So far, the Kane Williamson-led side has beaten Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

India, on the other hand, are at fourth position but can move up if they win their third game of the World Cup. The Men in Blue have so far defeated South Africa and defending champions Australia.  With both the teams in prime form at the moment, the clash promises to be a blockbuster. However, the game could be spoiled by rainfall.

It's been ?️ in Nottingham, but the clouds cleared enough for @Sdoull to get a glimpse of India's plans for their line-up against New Zealand. #INDvNZ | #CWC19 | #TeamIndia | #BACKTHEBLACKCAPS pic.twitter.com/W2ztWzd0yc

— ICC (@ICC) June 13, 2019

New Zealand had to train indoors in the last two days because of the rain. The conditions in Nottingham is very pleasing to the eyes and the weather forecast is not promising either.  The Met department has predicted big chances of rain at the start of the game but it would decrease as the time passes by. Thus even if the game starts late, one can witnessed a shortened game.

Live updates:

It was raining heavily in Nottingham since last night and although it stopped for a while in the morning, the downpours have started lashing the city as the day progressed. The conditions do not look very promising and the forecast warning has already been issued. Well, all we can do right now is hope and pray. Some good news for the fans as it is not raining in Nottingham right now but the sky is full of dark clouds.

Well, the match will have a delayed start. The BCCI have tweeted that there shall be an official inspection at 10:30 local, 15:00 IST.

Update – If there is no further rain, there will be an inspection at 10.30 AM local time#CWC19

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 13, 2019

Umpires have their say on the match and weather:

“The pitch is fine but just because we’ve had lot of rain in recent days, so we want to give it some time. Yes, player safety is important and it’s early in the tournament, so we got to consider all these things. It’s a damp kind of day with no wind or sun. We have to sit and wait for things to dry. It’s (pitch) got to be reasonable to play an international game of cricket. There will be areas that shall be more damp than others. As we speak, we can feel some drops, so I reckon there’s more rain around. We’ve got those 75 minutes (that can be added) and maybe a shortened game. There’s a lot of time and we shall have to wait. Seems like a slow-drying day.”

It has started drizzling again in Nottingham and the toss could be delayed further.

The covers are coming off as the rain has stopped. The next inspection will be at 16:00 IST. All the covers are off now and the groundsmen are busy doing their work.

Oh god, it is raining heavily and the covers are on. The next inspection will be at 17:00 IST. No promising update as the rain has continued.

The umpires have come out for inspection. The officials are not fully satisfied yet and the next inspection will take place at 18:00 IST. It has started raining heavily now and the chances are looking bleak.

The umpires have come out for another inspection and a final call on the game can be taken soon. The final inspection will be at 19:30 IST.

A quick update from Trent Bridge ? pic.twitter.com/dARTL0QvTY

— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 13, 2019

Ok folks, the game has been eventually abandoned.

Unfortunately, India's #CWC19 game against New Zealand has been called off due to the rain ?.

The points have been shared.#TeamIndia | #BackTheBlackcaps pic.twitter.com/Sr4qlzDriJ

— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 13, 2019