That’s that:  No play in the third session then. The rain was heavy when it lasted and the ground staff couldn’t drain it all out for the cricket to resume. At stumps, New Zealand reached 152 for 1 with Kane Williamson (65 not out) and Tom Latham (56 not out), narrowing down the deficit to 166 runs.

Rain update: 

Lot of updates coming in from our man at the venue – Ganesh Chandrasekaran. There was a drizzle towards the end of the second session that soon became a heavy down pour, forcing the ground staff to cover the entire ground. The drainage system at the venue isn’t very good, Ganesh says. Here’s more from Ganesh:

– Got lighter right now. People trickling back in to he uncovered stands. But feel we’re quite a bit away from any possible play.

– Can see some activity from the ground staff now. Still milling around for the drizzle to stop completely. Even after that there is a lot of water on the covers that needs careful removal

– Umpires out to have a word with the groundsman, probably to decide how long it will take for the ground to be ready for an inspection

– Shivkumar, the head groundsman, has his staff in a huddle before dispersing them off ro remove the covers. Looks like the first time for many of them, who are waving to the crowd as they cheer on

  Cricket, India, Kanpur, Test