VISAKHAPATNAM: ‘Rain, rain is going away. Come back another day’, is the fervent prayer of City of Doom fans. The city is hosting an ODI match after a long three-year hiatus and fans don’t want the off-season rain to spoil the party. According to TO THAT officials, all the tickets for the match have been sold out and this adds to the officials’ woes.
The IMD predicted rains for the weekend and Met officials said most coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh will experience widespread rain or thunderstorms over the next 24 hours. During thundershowers, the wind speed from the southeast would also be high.
The temperature in the port city on Saturday morning was 30 degrees Celsius with clear skies but it had turned cloudy by the evening. The humidity in the air was 89% and the wind speed was 14 km/h.
According to the meteorological department forecast, Coastal AP, comprising nine districts, and the four districts of Rayalaseema would experience heavy rain in isolated places and thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and wind gusts of 30 to 40 km/h.
After a relatively clear and sunny morning, things got darker in the afternoon. There was a heavy downpour for a few minutes in the stadium and ground staff were seen rushing to cover the ground. Luckily it only lasted a few minutes and the sun came out quickly.
However, in the evening the sky has darkened and there is an 80% chance of precipitation overnight. The chance of rain on Sunday is around 31 to 51% and the weather should remain cloudy. Therefore, fans and stadium officials are keeping their fingers crossed.
“The IMD predicted rain for tomorrow and that is a worrying aspect. It was expected to rain also yesterday but it didn’t and it’s actually bad because the chances that rain is hitting us tonight or tomorrow are very high,” said a Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA) member.
Officials are hoping the rain, if it does come, should fall at night and stop in the morning. “We have an excellent drainage system and the whole pitch can be covered. Therefore, damage to the wicket is not such a big problem. The outfield can also be drained in record time. We won’t need only 2 to 3 hours to get him back in shape,” an official said.
The ACA hopes they have at least one short game. “The least we can have is a 20-20 game. So we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” an official said.
Besides the ground staff, the ACA has about 30 other people to help with blankets etc.
The IMD predicted rains for the weekend and Met officials said most coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh will experience widespread rain or thunderstorms over the next 24 hours. During thundershowers, the wind speed from the southeast would also be high.
The temperature in the port city on Saturday morning was 30 degrees Celsius with clear skies but it had turned cloudy by the evening. The humidity in the air was 89% and the wind speed was 14 km/h.
According to the meteorological department forecast, Coastal AP, comprising nine districts, and the four districts of Rayalaseema would experience heavy rain in isolated places and thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and wind gusts of 30 to 40 km/h.
After a relatively clear and sunny morning, things got darker in the afternoon. There was a heavy downpour for a few minutes in the stadium and ground staff were seen rushing to cover the ground. Luckily it only lasted a few minutes and the sun came out quickly.
However, in the evening the sky has darkened and there is an 80% chance of precipitation overnight. The chance of rain on Sunday is around 31 to 51% and the weather should remain cloudy. Therefore, fans and stadium officials are keeping their fingers crossed.
“The IMD predicted rain for tomorrow and that is a worrying aspect. It was expected to rain also yesterday but it didn’t and it’s actually bad because the chances that rain is hitting us tonight or tomorrow are very high,” said a Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA) member.
Officials are hoping the rain, if it does come, should fall at night and stop in the morning. “We have an excellent drainage system and the whole pitch can be covered. Therefore, damage to the wicket is not such a big problem. The outfield can also be drained in record time. We won’t need only 2 to 3 hours to get him back in shape,” an official said.
The ACA hopes they have at least one short game. “The least we can have is a 20-20 game. So we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” an official said.
Besides the ground staff, the ACA has about 30 other people to help with blankets etc.
