NEW DELHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) will visit Kolkata's Eden Gardens next Monday to find out if it can host its three remaining World Cup games and has said the India-England match will be moved to Bangalore. Cricket's governing body announced last week it would take the Feb. 27 clash between India and England away from the venue because of a delay in renovation work. The ICC said Monday it had accepted the Indian board's (BCCI) proposal to move the match to Bangalore, adding it would make a further check on progress in Kolkata next week. “In a letter to the BCCI yesterday the ICC outlined a schedule of works that needed to be carried out at Eden Gardens ahead of the ground's other scheduled fixtures on 15, 18 and 20 March,” read an ICC statement. “An inspection team will visit Kolkata again on 7 February to assess progress in line with that schedule.” Kolkata's race against time is mirroring Delhi's struggle to get ready for last year's Commonwealth Games when most of the venues missed several deadlines and it took a mad, last-minute scramble by the red-faced government to salvage the event. The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, which hosts the April 2 cricket final and two other World Cup matches, and all three venues in Sri Lanka have been cleared subject to completion of work within two weeks. With the Feb. 27 game shifted to Bangalore, Eden Gardens has been left without a match featuring the home side. India spinner Harbhajan Singh said he was sad he would not be playing in Kolkata. “It's very unfortunate but I guess it's beyond our control,” Harbhajan said. ODI match washed out The first One-Day International between Sri Lanka and West Indies was abandoned because of rain at Sinhalese Sports Club Monday. West Indies captain Darren Sammy won the toss and elected to bat first and his team made 245-5 in 50 overs before rain started during the innings break. The steady rain eventually forced match officials to abandon the game. The West Indies top order failed to get the start it wanted, losing Chris Gayle with the total on six and Darren Bravo at 42. Gayle (4) edged seamer Nuwan Kulasekara to wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara and Bravo was run out after making eight. But Barath (113) and Ramnaresh Sarwan, who returned to form with 75, shared 165-runs for the third wicket. Barath hit eight boundaries and two sixes in 129 balls, while Sarwan's 100-ball innings included a six and four boundaries. Lasith Malinga ruined the West Indies' hopes of a big score in its batting power play, taking two wickets in three balls as the in-form partners departed in identical fashion – caught by Chamara Kapugedera at long-on. Malinga finished with 3-51 to restrict the visitors to a score which could have been chased down if not for rain. West Indies returned to Sri Lanka to complete a limited-over series after a scheduled five-match series was washed out in December. Much of the drawn three-match test series was also lost to rain.
