WI vs IND: Second T20I to begin at 11 PM IST due to delay in Indian team’s baggage arrival
The second T20I between India and West Indies, which was supposed to start at 8:00 PM IST, will now commence at 11:00 PM IST. The game, scheduled to be played on August 1 at Warner Park in St Kitts, has been delayed as the Indian team’s luggage did not arrive on time. As a result, the match will begin two hours later.
The two teams played the first T20I at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad, where India won by 68 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The players moved to St. Kitts for the second and third T20Is, but since there was a delay in the luggage arrival, the match had to be rescheduled. The final two T20Is were scheduled to be played in Florida, but there are chances of a change in venue as the two teams are yet to get a visa clearance.
“Due to circumstances beyond CWI’s control, there have been significant delays in crucial team luggage arriving into St Kitts from Trinidad. As a result, today’s match 2nd T20 Cup match is due to start at 01:30 pm local time (11.00 pm India time). CWI regrets any inconvenience caused to our valued fans, sponsors, broadcast partners, and all other stakeholders,” Cricket West Indies said in their official statement.
This is not the first time that such a delay in the match timings has happened. In the 1986-87 Australia tour of India, the ODI match that was scheduled in Jamshedpur was postponed because the team luggage had not arrived. In the ongoing series, the two teams had a three-day break between the two games as they had travel scheduled, but still, the luggage did not arrive on time.
India lead the T20I series by 1-0
India bagged a comfortable win in the first game in Trinidad, as the Men in Blue dominated over the hosts while playing on a ground that was hosting its first ever T20 international game. The upcoming match will be crucial for West Indies as they lost an ODI series by 0-3 for the first time at home against India. Thus, the hosts would look to level the series while India would look to extend the lead.
