In what is called by many as the mother of all clashes, India will take on Pakistan in their opening ICC Champions Trophy 2017 match at Edgbaston Cricket Ground.
However, the weather in the West Midlands city can play a spoilsport on the hopes of the millions of fans worldwide. The Indian team was on Friday forced to conduct an indoor net session due to an afternoon thundershower.
The Indian team arrived at the training facility in Edgbaston to the shower of rain, forcing the players to play indoor. The situation is expected to remain unchanged on Saturday with a thunderstorm forecast on that day.
On Sunday, there might be a slight improvement but the threat of rain can’t be completely ruled out. Some passing showers are expected throughout the day, which might play a dampener on the match.
Earlier on Friday, the match between Australia and New Zealand, which was also being played at the same venue, was stopped midway due to showers of rain. The match later resumed but was reduced to 46-overs per side.
India captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble had expressed their displeasure with the authorities over the training facilities available at Edgbaston Cricket Ground.
The Indian team had its first training session in Birmingham on Thursday and they were allotted the practice arena adjacent to main stadium. However, both Kohli and Kumble had uncertainties, as the arena was small in size. The main issue was the run-up for fast bowlers.
The India vs Pakistan match is much more than just a game. Both the sub-continental neighbors share a harsh relation and have not played a bilateral cricket series since 2012. It is only during the ICC tournaments that these two countries play against each other and their last encounter was at the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in 2016.