The Indian crew was scheduled to start coaching at 6 pm on Tuesday on the Wankhede Stadium. However because the clock struck the hour, there was no signal of the gamers.
Floor employees and media personnel waited. The floodlights remained switched off, casting the bottom in a fading twilight. An hour later, phrase filtered by: the session had been pushed again.
Whereas delayed coaching slots are hardly uncommon in worldwide cricket, this one got here with a twist. Sources indicated that with a lunar eclipse underway from 3.20 pm to six.47 pm, the crew administration selected to not start apply throughout what was thought-about an inauspicious interval as per the Hindu calendar.
At 6.55 pm, the floodlights flickered on. About ten minutes later, the gamers arrived, and preparations started in earnest.
That is, nonetheless, not the primary time such a factor occurred. In 2019, Ranji Trophy matches in Mumbai and Rajkot had a delayed begin late by two hours on account of photo voltaic eclipse.
Additionally learn | Meeting elections power BCCI to delay IPL 2026 schedule announcement
Head coach Gautam Gambhir was quickly deep in dialog with the pitch curator, assessing the floor and situations. Fielding coach Ryan ten Doeschate and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak took a better take a look at the strip, finding out its texture beneath lights.
Sources prompt one other high-scoring contest might be on the playing cards. The Indian quick bowlers, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, went by prolonged spells, fine-tuning their lengths and variations. The batters, too, spent appreciable time within the nets, specializing in timing and range-hitting because the build-up to the marquee conflict gathered momentum.
By the point the session wound down, the temporary delay had turn into little greater than a footnote – the highlight firmly again on the sport.
Revealed on Mar 03, 2026