Incessant rain over the last 24 hours caused by a depression over the Bay of Bengal threatens to ruin today’s second one-day international between Bangladesh and New Zealand.
The pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium has remained under cover for the last two days and it is unlikely to be removed unless there is a bright sunshine belying the weather bulletins.
The weather bulletins of British Broadcasting Corporation and the local meteorological department, forecast heavy rain and thunderstorm all through the day on Friday, means even a curtailed-over match also seemed very unlikely.
The modern drainage system at the country’s premier cricket venue gave some hope to many, but the curator of the ground, Badiul Alam, told reporters that a match can be held only if there is no rain from midnight.
‘We have a very good drainage system here. So a match can still be held provided there is no rain from midnight,’ Alam told reporters on Thursday.
‘The pitch has remained under cover for long, so there will be some moisture on it. That’s why we also need some sunshine for it to dry up,’ Alam said.
No matter what the weather bulletin says, Bangladesh, already 1-0 up in the five-match series, are ready for the match and facing up the possible backlash from the Kiwis.
‘I don’t know whether the game will take place or not. But as the drainage system of this ground is excellent, it can be made playable for holding the match within a short time. So it’s better to wait up until the next morning. Until then we are prepared for a 50-over game,’ said skipper Sakib al Hasan.
If there is any match, Sakib will be back at the helm as skipper after just eight one-day internationals as regular skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza is injured and has already been ruled out for the series.
Sakib, who performed brilliantly in the first one-day international both as makeshift captain and player, however, said he is still undecided about his future as captain.
‘I will be captaining the side for the time being. I still don’t know whether I will continue the captaincy in the series,’ said the all-rounder.
‘That will depend on the board. Actually it’s tough for them to take the decision about captaincy for a short span of time. So when they will take a decision they will inform me and then I will give my views. Let’s see,’ he said.
Sakib said the dressing room is upbeat after the nine-run win in the previous match and everybody was eagerly waiting for the game.
‘No one wants to miss any international game. But that doesn’t mean we’ll want to play in the rain, in muddy condition.’
‘We had a definite plan in the lead up to the series and we are all focused on the series. Guys were working hard to have a good result in the series and we are really enthusiastic to play. If we don’t have chance to play the next game, the plan will be altered,’ he said.
Bangladesh have trained at the indoor complex in the morning, but New Zealand have instead opted for light gym session at their hotel and shopping at a nearby shopping complex.
From their past experience the Kiwis might have known that there is no match possible in this weather, which prompted most of their players to skip training for two consecutive days despite a defeat to Bangladesh in the previous match.
The Kiwis faced in a similar situation when they were in Bangladesh in 2008. The first three days of their second Test match in Dhaka were completely washed out on their previous tour due to a similar depression in the Bay of Bengal.
