Under still-cloudy skies, the two teams have taken to the outfield, for warm up and practise.
The evidence indicates that Mohali's famed drainage system has worked; there is no real sign of damage to the outfield.
The pitch proper however is still under covers; the drizzle has accumulated a considerable amount of water on top of the covers. The first task for the groundsmen thus is to remove the covers without allowing the residual water to leak onto the wicket.
Once the covers are off, which should be within the next half hour, the umpires will inspect the pitch and outfield, and decide when play can resume.
13:00
The rain -- or rather, the persistent drizzle -- that plagued Mohali all morning has finally stopped.
At the time of writing this, the skies are clearing, but the covers are still on.
Word is awaited from the umpires -- first, about when they will carry out their inspection, and second, when in their estimation play can begin on day two of the Test.
Stay tuned, we will keep you posted on developments.
11:10
It's still raining in Mohali at this moment; the clouds are overhead, the covers are still on, and the game remains in limbo.For now, there is no information on when the game can restart - that calculation can begin only after the rain stops entirely.
What has to happen is, first, the rain has to stop entirely. Second, the umpires and administrators have to be sure it won't start again in a hurry. The covers then have to come off, the pitch and outfield have to be inspected, and then a decision will be taken on what if any the damage is, and how long it will take to get the ground ready for play.
A rule of the thumb, administrators here say, is that it will take a minimum of one hour after the rain stops, for play to restart - and that is the bare minimum.
10:00
The skies over Mohali are dark and broody; there is a steady drizzle that at the time of filing this report shows no sign of letting up.Together, these two factors have thrown the equations in the first Test into the melting pot.
Test cricket is not about time, as your wrist-watch defines it, but about overs - 450 of them (90 each day, multiplied by five days). Pakistan used up 86.4 of those overs in its first innings lasting all of the first day; that is effectively 90 overs gone or, put differently, 350 left to play.
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At the end of day one, the calculations for the Indian think tank was simple: If you factor in say 150 overs to bowl Pakistan out in the second innings, the team has the luxury of knowing that it can take its time, a good 200 overs worth, to bat itself into a position from which it can press for a big win.
The first question now is, what does rain do to this calculation? How many overs will eventually be lost? There is provision to start play earlier, and end it later, to try and accommodate the lost overs - but that depends on two factors; one, the light should hold and permit extended play and two, there should be no further rain over the next couple of days.
The bigger question -- and the one that should be worrying the Indian batsmen around now - is what does the rain do to the pitch?
It is not a heavy, furious rain - at least, not yet. Mohali has excellent covers, and state of the art drainage facilities. So at this point, what you are looking at is a bit of extra juice in the track that will help bowlers generate some pace, and a fraction more bounce, when play gets under way. Combine that with heavy overhead clouds, and swing bowlers begin to salivate.
The rest of it is all iffy - how long the pitch stays juiced depends on how strong the sun is, when and if it does come out.
For the Indians, primed last night to come out and mount an assault on the Pak score, it now becomes a waiting game - a matter of sitting in the dressing room, one eye on the clouds and the other on their own nerves; waiting, watching and mentally readying to face potentially inimical batting conditions when they do finally come out to play.
The news, as we wind up this report, is that umpires Rudi Kuertzen and Darrell Hair, after a cursory inspection at 9.15 am, have decided they will wait for the drizzle to stop, before they inspect the pitch and outfield and decide when play can begin.
