Incessant rain and windy conditions greeted Team India on their arrival in Nottingham on Monday evening. The dull and gloomy weather was a dampener on India’s upbeat mood in addition to the concern over opener and Oval centurion Shikhar Dhawan’s thumb injury, which is set to make him unavailable for next few matches.
Rain has washed out two World Cup matches so far: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka in Bristol and South Africa vs West Indies in Southampton. In Nottingham, too, there has been no respite from rain since Monday morning. India cancelled its Tuesday training session even as New Zealand trained indoors. Temperatures have touched a low of 9 degree Celsius.
However, things are expected to improve from Wednesday with heavy rain giving way to light rain and gentle breeze. On Thursday, when India and New Zealand meet at Trent Bridge, temperatures are expected to go further up to 15 degrees Celsius with light intermittent showers and moderate breeze. Met office here predicts a 40 per cent chance of rain on match day.
The match is expected to be affected by mild showers though, and team combinations, especially that of India, is likely to alter from the previous two matches. With Dhawan unavailable and K.L. Rahul expected to move to the opening slot, the possibility of playing both all-rounders Vijay Shankar and Dinesh Karthik increases at the cost of one spinner given these overcast conditions.
