Sachin Tendulkar left dejected after rain denies him Lord's 'debut'
The Indian cricket fans were not the only one who were left disappointed after persistent rain washed out the entire first day of the second Test match between India and England at Lord's in London on Thursday. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar also had a big reason to be saddened following the day's loss.
Tendulkar was at Lord's on Thursday and was all set to ring the iconic bell for the first time to declare the game open.
Tendulkar took to Twitter and said: "Was all set to ring the bell at Lords to start off the 2nd Test today, but unfortunately the weather had other plans. Hopefully we’ll get to see some good cricket over the next 4 days."
The play was called off at 4.50 pm local time without a single ball being bowled. The match officials decided to take an early lunch, moving the scheduled break ahead by 30 minutes. Even after lunch, there was no respite from the rain and it went on throughout the afternoon.
Finally, 45 minutes after the tea break', the umpires inspected conditions twice before declaring no play was possible.
The remaining four days will see 96 overs each to make up for the lost time. However, there is more rain forecast for this weekend and as such this match could see routine rain breaks.
By ringing the bell at Lord's, Tendulkar would have joined other Indian cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, MAK Pataudi, Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev and Sourav Ganguly.
Tendulkar, arguably the best batsman to have played the game, was made an Honorary Life Member of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 2010. He played his first Test at Lord's in 1990.
During the 2014 Bicentenary year at Lord’s, Tendulkar captained MCC to a seven-wicket victory over a Rest of the World team led by Shane Warne.
The ringing of the five-minute bell at a Lord’s Test by an international cricketer, administrator or well-known enthusiast of the sport is a recent tradition introduced in 2007.
Tendulkar was also spotted with Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh and director Kabir Khan at Lord's.
It was also the first time in 17 years that a complete day's play was washed out at Lord's. The last time it happened was in a Test match between England and Pakistan in May 2001. Incidentally, it was also the opening day of the Test match.
