Rain kills first day's contest in Ranji semis

Mohali: A known picturesque venue with postcard beauty, but when it came to cricket, the PCA stadium only offered a grey and gloomy day for the Ranji Trophy semifinals clash between Karnataka and Punjab here.

On a rain-swept and cold Saturday, in the high-profile last-four match, the opening day’s proceedings was called off without a ball being bowled due to unplayable conditions.

A curtailed day’s play due to foggy conditions was always on the cards and although there was prediction of rain, few expected the day’s play to sink. In fact, despite overnight rain and incessant drizzle in the morning, Punjab skipper Harbhajan Singh was confident that the play would start, but visitors Karnataka thought otherwise and stayed put at their hotel until noon.

While the sun did peek out to proffer some hope, the rain had done its damage, leaving wet patches on either side of the pitch besides a soft and slushy outfield.

After the first inspection at 1 pm, a second was scheduled an hour later, but at 1.35 pm, the umpires deemed the conditions unfit for play.

“When it stopped drizzling this morning, the ground staff said they would require about two hours’ time to get the ground ready for play. We had an inspection at 1.00 pm and found there were a few wet patches on either side of the wicket and we asked them to cover them adequately. We had scheduled our second for 2 pm but before that it began raining. The patches would have only got worsened and would have been dangerous for the players. So we decided to call off the play,” said on-field umpire Sudhir Asnani.

To beat the boredom, the two teams adapted contrasting methods. While the home side decided to stay warm in their dressing room the Karnataka players were far more enthusiastic and sporting. The team indulged in sepak takraw for an hour before heading back to their hotel, hoping for a sunny Sunday. Although rain is expected, forecast of a bright afternoon has lifted hope of some cricket.