Cloudy Bengaluru skies threaten India-England day-nighter
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Scores of fans queued up at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday morning for the day-night India-England World Cup cricket match. But with the sun playing hide and seek, the hot topic of discussion was - would rain play spoilsport?
Their concern was palpable as the meteorological department predicted 60 per cent chance of rain towards evening or night.
The Police began allowing spectators to enter the stadium at 10.30 a.m. for the match starting at 2.30 p.m. after an elaborate security drill of physical frisking and mobile checking.
Many fans had their faces painted with the tri-colour even as groups of boys and girls hovered around the stadium, selling Indian flags.
Over 7,000 police personnel with sniffer dog squads were on duty at the stadium for security. The stadium was also guarded overnight by over 100 police personnel.
The winner of the day-nighter on Sunday will not only get bragging rights in Group B but will also carry a lot of confidence as the February 19-April 2 tournament picks up steam.
While both teams have few worries about their batting, the bowling is a concern for both sides. India gave away close to 300 runs against Bangladesh, while Netherlands passed that landmark against England a few days later.
The match is threatened by rain and both teams will look to bat first not only to avoid headaches to competing with the Duckworth-Lewis system to settle weather-affected matches in the event that the heavens open.
While India's in-form batsman Virender Sehwag suffered a rib injury, England's opening bowler Stuart Broad had an upset stomach ahead of the match.
However, both players are expected to take to the field for the match and each team has a fully fit squad to pick from.
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