1st T20 International between India and SA abandoned due to rain
Dharamsala, Sep 15: The first T20 international between India and South Africa was abandoned on Sunday, without a ball being bowled due to heavy downpour that left a near capacity crowd disappointed.
While there was prediction of a sharp drizzle in the afternoon, the weather forecast was all clear for the evening but heavens opened up multiple times, putting paid to hopes of even having a five-over per side encounter.
A spell of thunder showers happened in the afternoon and by 5:30 pm it seemed that the rain had subsided with the spectators thronging into the stadium.
Just when the ground staff at the HPCA Stadium were working in full force, a second spell completely spoilt the evening as it was clear that even the shortest possible game cannot be conducted in such circumstances with multiple puddles created at the outfield.
The worst sufferer was certainly the common fans, who had come from all the nearby districts as well as from Chandigarh and Delhi to watch the match.
With most of the stands not having any overhead cover, the spectators were seen pulling off the in-stadia hoardings which worked as temporary "umbrellas" to save themselves from getting drenched.
Nowadays, all the matches under the aegis of BCCI are covered under insurance policy and HPCA will not stand to lose any money.
Since the toss was also not held, the viewing public will get a refund of their tickets.
The second T20 International will be played at Mohali on Wednesday while the third and final game will be held in Bengaluru on September 22.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Novak Djokovic declines to address a past interview about getting sick in Australia in 2022
Melbourne, Jan 10: Novak Djokovic did not want to rehash — or even discuss at all, really — what he said Friday was a months-old interview with GQ magazine in which he recalled having high levels of metal in his blood from food he was served while detained before being deported from Australia in 2022.
“I would appreciate not talking more in detail about that, as I would like to focus on the tennis and why I'm here,” Djokovic said ahead of the Australian Open, which starts Sunday (Saturday EST).
“If you want to see what I've said and get more info on that, you can always revert to the article,” Djokovic said about the piece posted online this week.
Djokovic is working with Andy Murray as his coach in Australia in a bid to become the first player in tennis history with 25 Grand Slam singles titles.
In a lengthy GQ story that covered several topics, Djokovic spoke about what happened three years ago, when he was not vaccinated against COVID-19 and was kicked out of Australia.
“I had some health issues. And I realized that in that hotel in Melbourne, I was fed with some food that poisoned me," he said. "I had some discoveries when I came back to Serbia. I never told this to anybody publicly, but ... I had a really high level of heavy metal. Heavy metal. I had ... very high level of lead and mercury.”
The 37-year-old Serbian did not directly answer at the end of Friday's news conference when asked whether he had any evidence linking the blood levels he described to GQ to the food he ate in detention.
