Drizzle disrupts KKR, RCB practice ahead of IPL opener; rain threat looms over match
Kolkata, Mar 21 (PTI): A steady drizzle in the evening brought premature end to evening practice sessions of Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on the eve of their IPL 2025 opener at Eden Gardens here on Saturday.
Practice began as scheduled at 5pm, but rain set in around 6pm, bringing the ground staff into action while the players had to pack up.
Fortunately, Eden Gardens is one of the few venues with full ground covers, ensuring the playing surface remained protected.
The Indian Meteorological Department's New Alipore office has issued an "orange alert" for Friday and Saturday, warning of thundersqualls, gusty winds, lightning, hailstorms, and moderate rainfall across several districts, including Kolkata.
"Thundersqualls with gusty winds, lightning, hailstorms, and light to moderate rainfall are likely in Jhargram, Purba and Paschim Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia, Purba Bardhaman, Hooghly, and Howrah on Friday," the IMD stated.
For Saturday, the forecast includes thunderstorms with gusty winds, lightning, and moderate rainfall in Nadia, Birbhum, Murshidabad, Purba Bardhaman, and North and South 24 Parganas.
The match has a 7.30pm start, with the toss scheduled for 7pm.
A glittering opening ceremony featuring Shreya Ghoshal and Disha Patani among others is planned at 6pm, but it remains to be seen if the weather plays a spoilsport.
According to IPL regulations, the league-stage matches have a one-hour extension window, meaning the cut-off time for a five-over match is 10:56pm, with play needing to conclude by 12:06am.
Kolkata has already experienced rain disruptions in the lead-up to the season opener, with a KKR intra-squad practice match being washed out after just one innings.
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Rupee declines 27 paise to 90.95 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 27 paise to 90.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, weighed down by a strong American currency and higher crude oil prices due to the escalated geopolitical tension.
A selling rush in domestic equities further pressured the Indian currency, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.94 and slipped further to trade at 90.95 against the greenback in early deals, losing 27 paise from its previous closing level.
The rupee rose 4 paise to settle at 90.68 against the US dollar on Wednesday. The currency exchange markets were closed on Thursday on account of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at 97.89.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.14 per cent higher at USD 71.77 per barrel in futures trade.
Analysts attributed the strengthening dollar and crude prices to heightened tension between the US and Iran, with both countries signalling they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran's nuclear programme fizzle out.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 150.35 points to 82,347.79 in early trade while the Nifty declined 35.15 points to 25,419.20.
On Thursday, foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 880.49 crore, according to exchange data.
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