Rain washes out third New Zealand-India ODI as India seal the series

The third one-day international between New Zealand and India at Seddon Park in Hamilton was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of persistent bad weather.

Two days of continuous rain ruined the match completely, after the rain had already disrupted both teams’ practice sessions.

With the match abandoned, India stayed 2-0 ahead in the five-match series with two games to play, confirming that they cannot lose the ongoing ODI series.

Considering the weather, the toss was first delayed by half an hour without any overs being cut. But fresh rain delayed the start again.

When the rain later stopped, the match was reduced to 40 overs per side and the two captains came out for the toss.

Indian captain Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to field, which was Kiwi captain Mitchell Santner’s seventh consecutive toss defeat on this tour.

But just as the players were about to take the field after the toss, light drizzle began again.

Ground staff repeatedly covered the wicket with covers through the evening; an inspection had been planned for around 5:30pm local time, but rain returned before that.

At least 30 to 40 minutes were needed to make the ground playable, and with the rain continuing, the umpires officially called the match off at around 6:45pm, even though 8pm was the cut-off time for staging a 20-over match.

India had named an unchanged XI, while New Zealand brought in Matthew Fisher in place of pacer Blair Tickner.

The remaining two ODIs of the series will be played at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. To avoid losing the series and level it 2-2, hosts New Zealand will have to win both matches.

However, New Zealand will be without Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Henry Nicholls, Tom Latham and Nathan Smith for the last two ODIs, as they will join the Test squad to prepare for the upcoming Test series.

On the other hand, even if India lose the remaining matches, there is no risk of a series defeat, and Indian captain Shubman Gill and senior batter Lokesh Rahul will also rest for the last two matches to prepare for red-ball cricket.