Cyclone threat looms over 2nd India-Bangladesh T20I in Rajkot

GBnews24desk//

After hazardous air-pollution levels threatened to disrupt the first T20I between India and Bangladesh in Delhi, there is the very real possibility of a cyclone affecting the next match of the series, in Rajkot on Thursday.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Maha is expected to make a landfall in Gujarat on November 6, and could cause “heavy or very heavy rains” in the state on November 7, the day of the match.

The good news, though, is that the cyclone “is very likely to intensify further till 5th November morning and weaken gradually there after”, according to the IMD.

Positioned around central Arabian Sea on Monday morning, just over 600 kilometres from the coast of Gujarat, the cyclone has been moving north-west from close to the Kerala coast for the last five days. It is, however, expected to take a turn towards Gujarat on Tuesday.

Jaydev Shah, the former Saurashtra captain who is now the head of the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA), told ESPNcricinfo that all precautions have been to taken to make sure the match takes place. “We have covered the ground to make sure the match can start on time in case the rain does disrupt.”

Shah was optimistic of the match taking place and said the weather so far has been good, four days from game day.

The met authorities said that the cyclone had intensified into an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm and is likely to cross the Gujarat coast around midnight on Wednesday or in the early hours of Thursday.

Rajkot, in central Gujarat, is just over 100 kilometres from the coast