Tour match's first day washed out

Benoni (South Africa), Dec 13 (IANS) The first day of India’s tour match against South African invitational XI Friday at the Willowmoore Park here was washed out due to heavy rain.

Benoni has received heavy rainfall in the last three weeks with 800 mm, and a tenth of that happened in the last two days.

“It has been quite a mission to get it up to standard but I’d say we’re 90 percent there. The pitch is nice and hard with an evening covering of grass so I’m happy with that. It’s the outfield that’s a bit of a concern because there are some places where it’s a bit soft,” curator Brendon Frost was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

The Indian’s can only hope for a day’s play Saturday to gear up for the two Test series. The first Test will be played at Johannesburg from Dec 18 while the second is in Durban from Dec 26.

India have lost the three-match ODI series 2-0.