NEW DELHI, DEC 9: The sixth women's Hero Honda World Cup cricket tournament got off to a damp start with the inaugural match between India and Sri Lanka in Group B being washed out at the Ferozshah Kotla here today.Heavy rain did not permit play between West Indies and the Netherlands at Agra too. All the four teams split points and get three each.It was the case of all dressed up and nowhere to go. Play was ruled out as the outfield had turned into a pool. Umpires RC Sharma and Desraj inspected the field at 11:30 a.m while it was still drizzling and found that water had seeped through the covers and onto the wicket.The match was then called off and the captains informed accordingly.It was a big disappointment for both sides who were eager to take the field. India were left ruing a lost opportunity to make a winning start against inexperienced opponents Sri Lanka. ``We are desperate to play and were looking forward to a good match,'' said Indian captain Pramila Bhatt.Sri Lanka captain Vanessa Bowen too conveyed her team's disappointment saying that they were eager to play India. ``Indians are a good lot and we like them very much, so we were happy to play them first. But it seems luck had something else in store for us,'' said Vanessa.The rain doused expectations of the organisers' also as they were hoping to collect some revenue from the sponsors.But since it was a washed-out match, there was no Doordarshan coverage and the Women's Cricket Association of India is keeping its fingers crossed for the further matches.The only bright patch on the wet day was chief guest Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma's attempt at batting off the `friendly' bowling of Pramila and Vanessa's bowlings. Group A matches are scheduled to start from tomorrow in southern India, where again rains are threatening to spoil the show.
