Cyclone alert could affect Mumbai's cricket schedule
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
A cyclone forming over the Arabian Sea near Mumbai and continuous heavy rains in the city over the past 24 hours have threatened the seventh and final ODI between India and Australia, scheduled to be held there on Wednesday. Cyclone Phyan is expected to hit the coast later on Wednesday and, though Mumbai is not expected to be in its direct path, weather conditions in the city have already deteriorated.
The city municipal corporation has sent out a public SMS advising citizens to stay indoors and extended to 5 p.m. the cyclone warning it issued yesterday.
A PTI report said the DY Patil Stadium, the venue of Wednesday's game, was a pool of water. However, the teams are expected to reach the ground by 2 p.m. and the match has a cut-off time of 5 p.m. - if there's no play by then, it will be called off.
Two other top-level matches in the city have already been affected; the first day's play of Sri Lanka's tour game against the Board President's XI has been washed out and the Ranji game between Mumbai and Orissa is yet to see a ball being bowled into the second day.
India's match-eve practice session was also called off on Tuesday, though the Australians managed theirs in the morning.
The Indian Metereological Department issued an alert for the coastal regions of south Gujarat and north Maharashtra. Weather scientists have been tracking a deep depression formed in the south east and adjoining central Arabian Sea, which was last moving in the northwest direction and to hit south Gujarat.
"The system is likely to intensify further into a cyclonic storm and move in a northerly direction for some more time and then north-northeastwards and cross south Gujarat and north Maharashtra coast between Mahuva and Dahanu by early hours of November 12," the alert issued by the IMD said.
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