Hamilton: Rain had the final say in the third ODI between New Zealand and India here at Seddon Park as the contest was called off on Tuesday without a ball being bowled.
The five-game series currently stands at 2-0 in favour of India, with the remaining two games to be played on Friday and Sunday.
The contest was already under a weather cloud following heavy rainfall in the city over the last 12 hours. Although the rain had briefly stopped and ground staff were working to get the playing area ready, another spell of showers forced the covers back onto the square, further delaying the scheduled toss.
However, after a two-hour delay due to rain and a wet outfield, the toss finally took place in the middle as India elected to bowl for the third straight time. Just a couple of minutes after the toss, the covers were pulled back on, and the wait game continued.
With 12:32 PM IST being the cut-off time for a 20-over game, the rain did not stop. Even when it did, briefly, it would have required almost 30-45 minutes for the groundsmen to get the pitch match-ready, resulting in further delays.
The previous two ODIs were affected by rain, with both teams facing moments of frustration throughout the series so far. The Men in Blue won the opening ODI by five wickets in Auckland while chasing a revised DLS target of 143 in 22.2 overs.
In the second ODI in Wellington, India were declared winners under the DLS method after rain brought an end to proceedings with the visitors at 113/7 while chasing 135, four runs ahead on the DLS par score.
Team India will head into the final two ODIs with a different-looking squad, with Shreyas Iyer taking the captaincy duties from Shubman Gill, who now starts to prepare himself for the upcoming two-match Test series along with other red-ball players from the squad.
The visiting side will now surely walk off with either a win or a draw guaranteed. The two sides will next face off on Friday at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
(IANS)
