Mumbai: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have postponed the third ODI between New Zealand and India by a day. The match was supposed to take place on 19th October and now will be played at 20th October due to the occasion of ‘Karva Chauth’. Karva Chauth is popular among North Indians, where wives pray for their husband’s long life by fasting for the day.
CK Khanna, BCCI and Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) vice president confirmed the news and said that BCCI have agreed to their request.
“We are thankful to BCCI for accepting our request of shifting the date by a day. I have received a letter of acknowledgement for the same from BACK office,” Khanna told PTI.
DDCA had written to BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke regarding the issue and about the practical difficulties while arranging the match on Karva Chauth. The ticket sales would have taken a hit as well.
NZ are touring India for three Tests and five match ODI series. The Kiwis are coming on the back of losing against Proteas at Centurion. Black Caps lost the Test series 1-0. India would like to regain the No.1 ranking in a busy home season, where 13 Test matches are scheduled.
New Zealand last toured India in 2012. They played two Test matches at Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Kiwis lost the series 2-0. NZ will be captained by star batsman Kane Williamson and would like to give better account of themselves. The squad has the firepower and has most of the bases covered. NZ have never won a series in India.
Indians will be looking forward to the visit of Black Caps. They played a very one sided series against Windies and would welcome a stern challenge.
The matches will be played at Kanpur, Indore and Kolkata. The series promises to be a close one and fans will get to see competitive matches.