Rain threat hangs over Bengaluru Test with New Zealand in command

The anticipated rain has held off in Bengaluru allowing the IND vs NZ 1st Test to progress to a point where either team could win with New Zealand currently in a favorable position However weather conditions might still play a decisive roleAccording to the Indian Meteorological Department IMD after rain cut short play on the fourth day Sundays forecast predicts a generally cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers Similarly Accuweather forecasts thunderstorms in the area late Saturday night through Sunday eveningGiven the match situation New Zealand will resume their innings needing 107 runs with all ten secondinnings wickets in hand This forecast could work to Indias advantage potentially limiting the time available for New Zealand to chase the target Conversely New Zealand eager to overturn their recent 20 Test series loss in Sri Lanka and defy their underdog status in this series will hope for enough clear weather to achieve their goal as per ESPNcricinfoRain is getting heavier and heavier Increase brightness to max to feel it No possibility of play before 130 pmINDvsNZ pictwittercomFP1huhNrj9mdash Aman CricketSatire October 19 2024The first day of the IND vs NZ 1st Test saw no play due to persistent rain which kept the covers on all day Play commenced the following morning under overcast skies and New Zealands fast bowlers quickly capitalized on the conditions dismissing India for a mere 46 runs in 312 overs New Zealand then posted a formidable 402 with India responding with 462 leaving New Zealand a target that on paper seems modestFortunately the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is equipped with a worldclass drainage facility and a subsurface aeration system designed to allow play to resume swiftly after rain stops This advanced system ensures that any rain interruptions can be managed effectively keeping hopes alive for a result in this intriguing Test matchAlso ReadRishabh Pant eclipses MS Dhoni in a milestone during breezy knock against KiwisComing to the fourth day of the match India who were going great guns in their second innings and were 4073 at one point lost seven wickets in less than 60 runs The dismal performance in the first innings when they could score only 46 runs continues to haunt themSarfaraz Khan continued his good form and notched up 150 Rishabh Pant also made valuable contribution of 99 KL Rahul failed to be among runsIndias troubles mounted as New Zealand bowlers made good use of new ball in the postTea sessionRavindra Jadeja was the first to fall dismissed by William O Rourke for 5 India managed to reach 450 in 945 overs but the wickets kept tumbling When Ravichandran Ashwin was dismissed India had scored 458 runsJasprit Bumrah followed soon after dismissed for a duck by Matt Henry reducing India to 4629 Mohammed Siraj also fell for a duck just two balls later with Henry claiming his third wicket Kuldeep Yadav remained unbeaten on 6 struggling to score as the ball was stopping on the wet outfieldBoth William O Rourke and Matt Henry ended with three wickets each while Tim Southee picked up one Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips also made contributions taking two and one wicket respectivelyThis effort by New Zealands fast bowling unit claiming 17 wickets is the most by a visiting side in a Test match in India since South Africa took 19 wickets in Ahmedabad in 2008As New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway came out to bat they only faced four deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah before bad light stopped play for the day Latham survived a scare ball when a Bumrah delivery pitched outside off India lost the reviewWith New Zealand keen to make 107 runs India have their task cut out to take all ten wicketsWith agency inputs