Rain threat looms over sell-out India-South Africa T20 clash; arrangements in place, say organisers

Enthusiasm
has
been
high
among
people
in
the
run
up
to
the
match,
with
all
tickets
being
all
sold
out
for
the
first
international
cricket
game
since
the
COVID-19
pandemic.
The
last
international
fixture
at
Barsapara
Stadium
here
was
an
India-Sri
Lanka
T20
match
on
January
5,
2020,
which
was
called
off
due
to
persistent
rain.

At
a
pre-match
media
interaction,
India
head
coach
Rahul
Dravid
said
it’s
great
to
see
fans
back
in
the
stadium.
“Since
June,
when
things
opened
up,
every
time
we
play
in
India,
every
stadium
has
been
packed.
That’s
a
great
thing.
I
am
sure
the
boys
really
appreciate
the
fans
cheering
for
them,
hopefully
supporting
good
cricket.
I
think
it’s
a
wicket
that
would
support
good
cricket,”
Dravid
said.

The
regional
meteorological
centre
has
forecast
a
partly
cloudy
sky
with
one
or
two
spells
of
rain
or
thundershower
for
Guwahati
on
Sunday.
The
organisers,
meanwhile,
said
they
have
put
in
place
all
arrangements
to
minimise
time
loss
in
the
event
of
rain.
The
Assam
Cricket
Association
(ACA)
has
imported
two
“extremely
lightweight”
pitch
covers
from
the
US.
It
already
has
around
20
covers
at
its
disposal.

“These
imported
covers
ensure
that
water
or
moisture
does
not
seep
into
the
pitch,”
ACA
secretary
Devajit
Saikia
had
said.

The
stadium
can
accommodate
around
39,000
people.
Saikia
also
said
additional
measures
are
being
planned
for
crowd
management
as
the
match
schedule
coincides
with
the
Durga
Puja
days
and
Gandhi
Jayanti.

Earlier
in
the
day,
Indian
cricketers
Axar
Patel
and
Umesh
Yadav
visited
the
famous
Kamakhya
Temple
atop
the
Nilachal
hill
here.
They
were
escorted
to
the
‘Shaktipeeth’ under
high
security
cover,
officials
said.
Both
posed
for
photographs
with
fans
before
returning
to
the
hotel.