With India in strife at the end of the second day's play in the first Test against New Zealand, the fans are eager to know more about the Bengaluru weather on Friday (October 18). For the unversed, after the opening day was washed out due to rain, the Test match got underway under dark clouds today with India opting to bat first only to get skittled for just 46 runs.
New Zealand pacers took all 10 wickets to fall in just 31.2 overs with Matt Henry picking up a five-wicket haul while William O'Rourke scalped four. By the end of the day, the Kiwis had batted 50 overs and scored 180 runs for the loss of three wickets, leading but 134 in the first innings. With three days still left in the Test match, all eyes are on the weather in Bengaluru over the weekend.
As per Accuweather, it will remain cloudy in the morning in Bengaluru with only a 6% chance of rain at 9 AM IST. It is expected to remain cloudy for a considerable period before the chances of rain increase to 16% around 1 PM. There is a forecast for rain with thunderstorms at 4 PM and later with the chances of showers increasing to 57%.
Play might not resume once it stops after 4 PM with rain predicted till around 6-7 PM on Friday. Over the weekend, cloudy skies is the forecast for now with very less chance of rain. Going by the current forecast, Day 3 could be curtailed but a full day's play is expected on days four and five.
It is hard to predict whether the rain on Friday will be enough for India to save the Test match as Chinnaswamy Stadium's drainage facility is world-class.
As far as the match is concerned, India will be keen on limiting New Zealand's lead in the first innings. The hosts will need quick wickets in the first session to make a comeback in the game.
