India, NZ share points after another washout
Nottingham, Jun 13: The frustrating English weather finally caught up with the Indian team as their third World Cup game against New Zealand was called off without a ball being bowled here Thursday.
New Zealand have seven points from four games while India now have five from three with the next game against Pakistan in Manchester on Sunday.
Incidentally, the weather Gods are threatening to play spoilsport over there too.
The toss was delayed due to inclement weather and in the end it never took place. An inspection was to happen at 3 pm IST, the scheduled start time, but was put off after it started raining again.
The outfield was pretty wet after heavy showers in the past two days.
The umpires had one last inspection at 7:30pm IST before taking the decision to abandon the match.
This was the fourth such game in the ongoing tournament that has not yielded any result, something that will certainly increase ICC's worry.
While both the teams share a point each, the practical difficulties of not having a reserve day as stated by the ICC CEO David Richardson is certainly leaving the fans, especially the Indians high and dry.
Indian captain Virak Kohli said it was a sensible decision to call off the match.
"Sensible decision to not play, given the outfield wasn't fully fit (sic). One point not a bad thing for sides that have won all their games so far. So we'll take it," he said.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said it was not an ideal situation but in a way a good chance for the players to get some rest.
"(It has) been about four days and we haven't seen the sun, so this doesn't surprise us. It's not ideal, but little bit of time off is also important. We have some break now midway through, so it's a good chance for the guys to freshen up and look forward to the next challenge," he said.
The ICC refunds tickets if a single ball is not bowled but the hundreds of fans who have bought overpriced tickets from a third party are certain to lose money.
"I have paid 800 GBP (more than 70k INR) for a ticket. I am losing a lot of money. The black market rate for a Pakistan game is 2000 GBP. I can't afford that," said a software engineer who has come all the way from Singapore.
The broadcasters, however, can heave a sigh of relief as all the matches are insured and they can make up for losses.
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Nagpur explosives factory blast: Death toll rises to 19
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Nagpur (PTI): The death toll in the Nagpur explosives company blast has gone up to 19 after one more person succumbed, police said on Monday.
Twenty-three other injured workers were undergoing treatment in hospitals here, a police official said.
The toll in the blast at the SBL Energy Limited factory on Sunday has risen to 19 with the death of one more worker, he said.
A high-level meeting chaired by Nagpur Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule was underway at the divisional commissionerate here to deliberate and take stock of the incident that took place on Sunday.
Senior officials from various departments, local legislators and other leaders were present in the meeting.
The police have arrested nine directors of SBL Energy Limited, where the blast took place on Sunday morning, officials said.
The Kalmeshwar police here have registered a case against 21 directors and shareholders of the company under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, they said.
The explosion occurred at the detonator packing unit of SBL Energy Limited, a mining and industrial explosives manufacturer, at Raulgaon in Katol tehsil of Nagpur district.
The bodies were charred beyond recognition, and samples of the family members were being taken for DNA testing to ascertain the identities of the deceased, police said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion.
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