Rain ruins first day of India tour match

REUTERS - The start of India’s only warm-up match for the Test series against Australia was delayed by torrential rain yesterday, with the four-day clash against a Cricket Australia XI looking unlikely to get underway before Thursday.

Storms battered the New South Wales coast on Wednesday morning, flooding streets, railway stations and homes as the extreme weather caused commuter chaos, grounded flights and left hundreds of homes without electricity.

Play was impossible at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where the tourists are scheduled to play a non First-class tour match against an under-strength representative side featuring just one international, D’arcy Short.

The Test series begins in Adelaide on December 6 with further matches in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney over the following month.