Solar eclipse on January 15 could spoil home team’s chance of winning a Ranji Trophy final after 11 years.
In case the Ranji Trophy final between Karnataka and Mumbai turns out to be a hard fought contest that drags into the fifth day, it could well be the first time in the history of Indian cricket that a solar eclipse has helped a team win.
This, because the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) failed to take into account that January 15, the fifth and the last day of the Ranji Trophy final, would be the day when a rare solar eclipse would occur between 11am and 3pm – a good part of the scheduled play time.
The 85% solar eclipse viewed from Mysore is set to induce a fair degree of darkness, even worse, if it is cloudy on that day.
If the play has to be called off due to bad light on January 15, and the match is forced to remain unfinished, Mumbai wins on the basis of a first innings lead of 103 runs. If anything, this only throws light on the poor planning on the part of BCCI. Ranji Trophy schedules are put in place a year in advance, but despite news of the solar eclipse doing the rounds for a while, BCCI did not change the schedule anticipating that the rare cosmic phenomenon could mar the game on the last day. Mumbai, at the end of day two, and in its second innings already (108 for 5), has a lead of 211 runs with five wickets intact. It scored 233 in the first innings before scuttling Karnataka for 130.
With the green top wicket easing out as the days proceed, there is every chance that Karnataka attempts a win, taking the match into the fifth day—the day of the eclipse.
Religious sentiments of some players apart (some communities believe in not venturing out during the period of solar eclipse), Gangothri Glades, the scenic ground where the match is being played, does not even have floodlights. Ratnakar Shetty, chief administrative officer, BCCI, was not available for comments, but BCCI panel umpire, Suresh Shastri, said “In that case (solar eclipse affecting the visibility conditions), we will offer light to the players, and bad light would come into effect. There are no special rules pertaining to solar eclipse.”
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