Rohit Sharma and Team India India returned to the hotel after the second day of the second Test between India and Bangladesh in Kanpur looked to be a washout. Persistent morning showers on Saturday meant that play would likely be called off without a ball being bowled on day two.
Although the official announcement of the day’s abandonment has yet to be made, both the Indian and Bangladeshi sides have already headed back to the hotel. Even commentators such as Sunil Gavaskar and Dinesh Karthik have returned to the hotel, suggesting there is little chance of any cricket being played today.
This is not the first time that rain has affected the playing conditions in this match. On the first day of the clash, overnight showers had delayed the start of the match and later on, poor light followed by incessant rain led to early stumps being taken. Only 35 overs were played on the first day and both teams looked evenly matched with the hosts holding a slight edge.
The day began brightly for India as pacer Akash Deep took the crucial wickets of Zakhir Hasan (0) and Shadman Islam (24 off 36 balls) to reduce the visitors to 29/2. However, a valiant 51-run partnership between skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque helped Bangladesh get back into the game. The partnership was eventually broken by Ravichandran Ashwin, who used his experience to remove Shanto for 31.
As things stand, Mominul Haque (40) and Mushfiqur Rahim (6) will take on the challenge of guiding their team to a comfortable total when play resumes in Kanpur. The weathermen had predicted that rain could affect the first three days of the match and with day two virtually washed out, fans will be hoping for a better outcome on day three.