Rajput, along with the coaching staff members Robin Singh and Venkatesh Prasad had done the ground inspection earlier in the morning after Gilchrist and Aussie coach Tim Nielsen checked the match-fitness of the venue. But like everyone else Rajput said that there was a lot of water in the outfield and only bright sunshine could see the game taking place. “We are keeping our fingers crossed,” he said.

The fingers might be crossed, but the Indians weren’t quite twiddling their thumbs all day. They had a gym session in the morning, and with the hotel facility not quite spacious the Indian team worked out in batches. Batsmen followed the bowlers. In the evening the players had a meeting and this followed by honouring the dinner invitation of local boy S Sreesanth at his place. As for the fitness reports, Sourav Ganguly’s MRI scan showed no tear and that means he is expected to be fit for the Hyderabad game, while Harbhajan Singh, who had a stiff neck in Bangalore, was declared match fit.

With no such encouraging news about the ground fitness on cards, all eyes in Kochi are aimed sky wards. Will it be a total washout or will be Bangalored? The players would prefer the first option but the crowd would like at least some action as was the case in the first game.