KPL 2018: Tournament gets shifted from Mysuru to Hubli

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"It's been raining heavily since last month, it just eased a couple of days back". My first cab driver in Hubli gave me a fair warning of what was expected as soon as I entered the city.

The Hubli leg of Karnataka Premier League, expected to be the phase of the tournament that shapes the points table, has been shifted out to Mysuru with immediate effect, owing to inclement weather conditions.

The remaining matches of the Hubli leg will take place in Mysuru starting 25th August (Saturday).

On August 25, Saturday, the Belagavi Panthers vs Ballari Tuskers and Shivamogga Lions vs Bengaluru Bulls matches, and the game on Sunday, August 26, between Bijapur Bulls and Ballari Tuskers will now be played in Mysuru.

The matches that were supposed to be held in Hubli on August 23rd, Thursday, between Hubli Tigers vs Belagavi Panthers and Friday, August 24th, the Bijapur Bulls vs Mysuru Warriors, will be played in Mysuru. The schedule for the same will be announced later.

The Bijapur Bulls have been hit the hardest - supposed to play back to back games against the Belagavi Panthers and the Bengaluru Blasters, the Bulls received a body blow when both the games were called off because of the dampness in the outfield.

The groundstaff has been running around trying to make things work, but this isn't Chinnaswamy - the exceptional drainage facilities in Bengaluru aren't comparable with the KSCA Cricket Ground in Hubli, but the hard work put in by the groundsmen needs to be applauded.

For two days straight, they tried everything - right from brooming off patches, to putting sand and mats to dry off the area, they tried it all, but it couldn't help take away the dampness outside the 30-yard circle.

On Wednesday, the curators went one step ahead and used firewood to dry parts of the ground in an attempt to make something out of the Bengaluru-Bijapur clash.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

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