Bengaluru, 16 Oct

Unrelenting rain wiped out play on day one of the opening Test between India and New Zealand here on Wednesday.

The play was called off at 2.34pm as heavy rain lashed the M Chinnaswamy Stadium after relenting for about half an hour earlier. The match officials came out to inspect the pitch around 2pm after outfield and first layer of covers were removed around 1.50pm.

But there were large damp areas on either side of the pitch as hessians were brought out in a last-ditch attempt to get some game time. However, it was a futile effort as extensive damage was already done by rains of varying intensity from early morning.

Earlier, even the toss, which was scheduled at 9am, could not take place as rain came down relentlessly over the city from morning. There was a smattering of spectators at the stadium despite the inclement weather.

But the only moment of excitement for them was the sighting of star batter Virat Kohli and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who went for an indoor net session along with assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. They might have to wait further for action even on the second day as the current forecast is for more rain on Thursday at least till noon.

It may be recalled that even the training sessions of both teams were washed away by heavy downpour on Tuesday. Play on day two is scheduled at 9.15 am and toss at 8.45 am.