ICC World Cup 2019: Inconsistent weather before India-Pakistan match keeps everyone guessing

The 2019 World Cup has been marred by rain to quite some extent thus far. Even as three matches got abandoned due to rain, the game between South Africa and the Windies got called off after 7.3 overs of play. To make things worse, there are forecasts of rain even for the next few days. On Sunday, May 16, the marquee clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan is scheduled to take place.

The game is set to be played at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester, which will host its first match of the ongoing mega event. Unfortunately, the weather report for the high-voltage clash isn’t something to cheer about neither for the fans nor for the players. On Friday morning, it rained in Manchester. The covers were on and the ground looked lush green but extremely wet.

Indifferent weather to keep everyone on their toes

The weather wouldn’t have pleased both Pakistan and India as they have had one abandoned game each against Sri Lanka and New Zealand respectively. However, the weather took a turn and at around 10:30 am and the sun came out to reignite hopes of match-friendly weather. Quite immediately, the ground-staff made their way to the middle, removed the covers and began working on the covers.

It was pretty evident from the body language of the grounds-men that they were anxiously waiting for sunshine. The best part was that the heavens didn’t open for most of the day, giving the grounds-men ample time to clear the ground. The forecast over the next couple of days is mixed as per reports in The Times of India (TOI). On Saturday and Sunday, light showers are predicted.

On match-day, the rains are most likely to arrive in the afternoon, which means that the second half of the Indo-Pak affair is likely to be affected. The groundstaff believes that if the rain stays away on Saturday and Sunday then a full-game may be on the cards on Sunday.

In the meantime, former England cricketer Eddie Hemmings told that rain during this period is pretty unusual. “You know, at this time last year, it was 27 degrees here. It was hot. This rain at this time is most unusual,” Hemmings was quoted as saying.