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NEW DELHI: The first one-day international of the three-match ODI series between India and Australia to be played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi has been abandoned due to rain.
Soggy conditions delayed the start of the toss and the umpires inspected the conditions at 9:00 am but found the areas near the bowlers run-up and a few parts near the boundary lines quite damp.
They decided to carry out another inspection at 11:00 am to make a final call. But the rains began again at about 10 a.m., forcing the match to be abandoned.
The cricketers in both the camps were deprived of their regular pre-match nets session, on Saturday, for the second day running owing to poor ground conditions.
Star-power is missing after heavyweights from both the teams were either rested or ruled out. Buoyed by the thrilling 2-0 Test series win over the Aussies, India would look to carry on the good form when they face a depleted Australia.
The Indians would be without senior stars such as Sachin Tendulkar, who has been in excellent form of late, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.
While Tendulkar has been rested, Sehwag and Gambhir are nursing knee injuries, giving youngsters such as Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Saurabh Tiwary to make a mark for themselves.
But despite being a depleted side due to the absence of Ponting, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, Clarke's men are no pushovers and have the ability to absorb pressure.
Clarke himself is hungry for runs after aggregating just 35 runs in Mohali and Bangalore and would be expected to play the sheet anchor role for the Aussies as they strive to hold to their top ranking in the ICC one-day format.
Going by current form, India can be fancied as the better team on paper but it remains to be seen whether the new ball bowlers -- Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel and R Vinay Kumar -- would be able to make an impact on the batting-friendly strip here in the absence of senior pacer Zaheer Khan.
The enthralling cricket appears to be in store in the day game where Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay, who have done appreciably well in the just-concluded Test series, looking to make a mark.
The off-colour Yuvraj Singh, who was dropped from the Test team, would be aiming to make his case for a return after performing well in the Irani Trophy domestic cricket.
Kochi has been a happy hunting ground for India as they have won four of the six matches played at the Nehru stadium. (the times of india)
Soggy conditions delayed the start of the toss and the umpires inspected the conditions at 9:00 am but found the areas near the bowlers run-up and a few parts near the boundary lines quite damp.
They decided to carry out another inspection at 11:00 am to make a final call. But the rains began again at about 10 a.m., forcing the match to be abandoned.
The cricketers in both the camps were deprived of their regular pre-match nets session, on Saturday, for the second day running owing to poor ground conditions.
Star-power is missing after heavyweights from both the teams were either rested or ruled out. Buoyed by the thrilling 2-0 Test series win over the Aussies, India would look to carry on the good form when they face a depleted Australia.
The Indians would be without senior stars such as Sachin Tendulkar, who has been in excellent form of late, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.
While Tendulkar has been rested, Sehwag and Gambhir are nursing knee injuries, giving youngsters such as Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Saurabh Tiwary to make a mark for themselves.
But despite being a depleted side due to the absence of Ponting, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, Clarke's men are no pushovers and have the ability to absorb pressure.
Clarke himself is hungry for runs after aggregating just 35 runs in Mohali and Bangalore and would be expected to play the sheet anchor role for the Aussies as they strive to hold to their top ranking in the ICC one-day format.
Going by current form, India can be fancied as the better team on paper but it remains to be seen whether the new ball bowlers -- Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel and R Vinay Kumar -- would be able to make an impact on the batting-friendly strip here in the absence of senior pacer Zaheer Khan.
The enthralling cricket appears to be in store in the day game where Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay, who have done appreciably well in the just-concluded Test series, looking to make a mark.
The off-colour Yuvraj Singh, who was dropped from the Test team, would be aiming to make his case for a return after performing well in the Irani Trophy domestic cricket.
Kochi has been a happy hunting ground for India as they have won four of the six matches played at the Nehru stadium. (the times of india)
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