Will rain affect the first India-New Zealand Test? What Bengaluru's weather looks like for next five days

India’s training session was washed out as heavy rains lashed Bengaluru on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand. The three-Test series between India and New Zealand gets underway at the iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium from Wednesday with Pune and Mumbai hosting the remaining fixtures of the series.

Team India’s training session was initially slotted for 9.30 am, according to ESPNCricinfo, and was initially postponed by an hour before being cancelled altogether. New Zealand are scheduled to train at the home of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at 1.30 pm, but that too is unlikely to proceed given the persistent rain in the ‘Garden City’.

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Rain had affected the second Test between India and Bangladesh in Kanpur recently, with bad light and a wet outfield at the Green Park Stadium also contributing to two-and-a-half days being lost.

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The Rohit Sharma-led hosts, however, managed to pull off a dramatic victory in the last two days of the Test despite the lost time, thanks to their explosive batting and getting the ‘Tigers’ bowled out twice in quick succession.

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Will rain affect the opening Test against New Zealand the way it did in the second Bangladesh Test in Kanpur?

Here’s what Bengaluru’s weather looks like for the next five days:

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Wednesday, 16 October (Day 1): According to Accuweather, Wednesday’s forecast for Bengaluru reads “a thick cloud cover with a thunderstorm in spots in the afternoon”. With a 41 per cent chance of rain and a 25 per cent chance of thunderstorms, the opening day of the India-New Zealand Test series is likely to witness multiple interruptions though there might be some play possible.

Thursday, 17 October (Day 2): “Considerable cloudiness with a thunderstorm in spots,” reads Thursday’s weather forecast for Bengaluru with a 40 per cent chance of rain and a 24 per cent chance of a thunderstorm. A miniscule improvement from Wednesday’s forecast, meaning Day 2 should also witness multiple interruptions.

Friday, 18 October (Day 3): The weather in Bengaluru is expected to worsen on Friday with the forecast reading “cloudy with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm in the afternoon”. With a 67 per cent chance of rain an a 27 per cent chance of a thunderstorm, the ‘Moving Day’ might witness the players spending more time in the dressing room than on the ground.

Saturday, 19 October (Day 4): With the first three days likely to be affected by rain, there is a chance for the two teams to catch up on Day 4 the way India did against Bangladesh in Kanpur, with Saturday expected to be “mostly cloudy” with the probability of rain coming down to 25 per cent and thunderstorms along being negligible.

Sunday, 20 October (Day 5): Rain is expected to make a comeback on Sunday, the final day of the Test after giving the players and fans some respite the previous day, with a 40 per cent chance of rain and a 24 per cent chance of thunderstorms.

With four out of five days likely to be affected by rain, there is a good chance the Bengaluru Test might end with a stalemate. And with Bengaluru expected to remain under cloud cover on all five days, seamers could prove handy for both teams in whatever little play is possible.