Thiruvananthapuram: With just around 24 hours for the deciding third and final Twenty20 between India and New Zealand to be staged in the state capital, Monday saw heavy rains lashing the Greenfield International Stadium.
The local meteorological office has predicted more rains later in the day and Tuesday also. The match is scheduled to start at 7pm local time (5.30pm UAE) and all the more than 40,000 tickets have been sold out.
Incidentally, this is the first time in close to three decades that the city is hosting an international match, after Vivian Richards-led West Indies beat India, who were led by current head coach Ravi Shastri.
The team arrived, late on Sunday night and have been lodged at the famed Leela Kovalam luxury hotel overlooking the Arabian Sea.
The players cancelled their practice after heavy rain in the morning and instead went around the beach side hotel.
Shastri, accompanied by his deputy and former India player Sanjay Bangar, however, took time off in the morning and arrived at the famed Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple in the heart of city.
India captain Virat Kohli arrived at the Chandrasekheran Nair stadium to take part in a programme of the Kerala government, ‘Say yes to Cricket, No to Drugs’ in which Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also took part. Kohli read out the pledge to the hundreds of schoolchildren who were present.
Apart from the rain threat, the series finale promises to be a thrilling contest between evenly matched sides with the series level 1-1. To clinch the series, India will have to put up a better display in all departments of the game, while New Zealand will aim to maintain the momentum.
India comprehensively beat the visitors in the first match at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi with New Zealand bouncing back in style to win the second by 40 runs.
Electing to bat first, the visitors rode on an unbeaten quick-fire unbeaten century by opener Colin Munro to post 196 for two in 20 overs. Munro, who batted through the innings, smashed 109 off 58 deliveries. In reply, the hosts could only manage to post 156/7.
Indian batsmen will now need to get their act together especially, the middle-order batsmen like Shreyas Iyer, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya. The bowling department was also seemed struggling on the flat pitch. Apart from pacer Jasprit Bumrah, none could troubled the New Zealand batsmen. The conditions and the pitch could favour India in the decider.
Former India player Sanju Samson, who has played a Ranji Trophy match in the stadium recently, said the clay wicket, which will be used for Tuesday’s match, is going to be one which batsmen will find it easy. “So whichever team bowls well, will do well,” said Samson.
