Watch: Chinnaswamy Stadium's SubAir system ready to eliminate rain threat

New Delhi: The fourth ODI match of the ongoing India-Australia match at Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday (September 28) is likely to face rain interruptions. But the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) officials are confident that the match will be a success, and have promised 'sporting pitch'.

The stadium is spruced up for the big match, but rain threat remains one worrying point for everyone. Weathermen have predicted spells of thundershowers in the next 24 to 48 hours. Many parts of the city had witnessed heavy rain.

"Rain has not hampered pitch preparations much. Our aim is to provide the teams a sporting wicket. The pitch will be hard," R Sudhakar Rao, secretary of KSCA, told IB Times.

So, what made the hosts so confident in the face of unrelenting rain.

"Due to rains in the last couple of days, the outfiled might be slow but there is no threat for the match tomorrow. Even if there is rain during the match we can restart in 20 minutes from the time rain stops," Sudhakar said.

That brings us to the state-of-the-art the SubAir subsurface aeration and vacuum-powered drainage system, which was installed there at at cost of INR 4.25-crore. For the record, Chinnaswamy is the first stadium in the world to get this facility.

Watch SubAir in action:

"The SubAir system automatically kicks into action the minute it starts raining, thereby not allowing any buildup of water on the outfield. It quickly removes standing water (36 times faster than drainage by gravity!) virtually eliminating the need for extended game delays or cancellations due to wet outfield conditions.

"So in reality, it could rain at 2AM on the day of the match, yet, without any manual intervention, the suction system gets activated through signals from the remote sensors embedded in the field. Water begins to get evacuated at the rate of over 10,000 litres/minute, from the moment it begins to rain," said KSCA.

India have already taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, thanks to their victories in Chennai, Kolkata and Indore.