India vs England: How rain denied Sachin Tendulkar a historic first at Lord’s

Sachin Tendulkar was at Lord’s to ring the bell to signal the start of the second Test match between India and England, but persistent rain ensured play never started on Thursday.

The first day of the second Test between India and England at Lord’s was washed out due to incessant rain, much to the disappointment of fans who had braved the weather conditions.

Sachin Tendulkar shared this picture of himself at Lord’s. (Twitter)

There were high hopes that the second Test would be a hotly contested affair, especially after the excitement generated by the series opener at Edgbaston. However, it was not meant to be.

The fact that the day’s play didn’t even begin was something that disappointed even Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar, who was at Lord’s to ring the iconic bell for the first time to signal the beginning of the game.

“Was all set to ring the bell at Lords to start off the 2nd Test today, but unfortunately the weather had other plans. Hopefully we’ll get to see some good cricket over the next 4 days,” the batting legend wrote on Twitter.

The ringing of the five-minute bell at a Lord’s Test by a cricketer, administrator or even a popular fan is a tradition that was first introduced in 2007.

Other notable former India internationals to have been a part of this ceremony are Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev and Sourav Ganguly.