As if the incessant rain wasn’t enough to bother the Cricket Association of Bengal officials ahead of the second ODI between India and Australia on Thursday, it has now come to the fore that Steve Smith and boys were irked thanks to the inability of the CAB officials to provide them ‘perfectly’ cooked grilled chicken at the Eden Gardens.

New Delhi: As if the incessant rain wasn’t enough to bother the Cricket Association of Bengal officials ahead of the second ODI between India and Australia on Thursday, it has now come to the fore that Steve Smith and boys were irked thanks to the inability of the CAB officials to provide them ‘perfectly’ cooked grilled chicken at the Eden Gardens.

Speaking to CricketNext, a CAB official said that things took an ugly turn on Tuesday when the Australian players realised that the grilled chicken served to them had not been cooked at the 73 degree centigrade temperature as ordered by the Australian team management.

“The Australian players were not too happy when they came to realise that the grilled chicken served to them had not been cooked at the prescribed 73 degree centigrade. They had already made their requirement known in advance and the fact that it wasn’t followed did not go down too well with them. It took some cajoling before they calmed down. But things are now under control and the cook has been told not to repeat the mistake. In fact, the Australian players were happy with the food served today (Wednesday),” the official said.

The young Indian players have also started taking their lifestyle and eating habits very seriously thanks to inspirational skipper Virat Kohli. Ahead of the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur last year, the BCCI had sent a mail on these lines to the state associations.

"The BCCI sent a mail to the associations of September 12, briefing them about the training and match schedule, the hotel lists where the team will be lodging in different cities, the flight details and most importantly the dietary requirement of the players. They have made it clear that grilled chicken, a paneer item and a blender should be available at all times at all venues," a BCCI official had said.

Things have clearly not gone according to plan for CAB president Sourav Ganguly and team. After rain forced the training session to be called off on Tuesday, the players might well be forced to train indoors again on Wednesday as rain is playing spoilsport. In fact, the met department has predicted evening showers even on Thursday.

The city has been witnessing frequent showers and Kolkata Met director Ganesh Das has blamed it on circulation over South Bengal. "By September 21, the circulation will be gone but in this month rain is a possibility especially in the evening. It may not however continue for too long," Das said.

Hosting Australia for the first time since November 18, 2003, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is in no mood to take chances. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who is the president of CAB, also inspected the conditions and was seen giving instructions while the ground remained under cover.

"The pitch and ground conditions is just perfect. It's an ideal condition what's required for an One-Day International contest but I cannot say whether it will rain or not," said CAB pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee, who's putting in hard yards despite flu for last two days.

He said he is unable to predict a score but promised a sporting wicket for the tie. "Who would have thought India will score 281/7 from being five down for 87 in the 22nd over. I cannot say they will make how many runs but the wicket will help both batsmen and bowlers," Mukherjee said.

Asked about the possibility of showers, he said: "We are equipped to cover the entire ground and there is enough machinery to clear up even if it rains but it depends on the intensity and duration."

Mukherjee had earlier told CricketNext that he was not too happy with the scheduling of the match. “When we were growing up, we would have international matches in the north at this time of the year and it was only in the winters that games would be played in Eastern India. Again, you would have games down south during the summers. But that is not followed anymore and whichever association has its turn, organises the game. So well we will now try and give it our best shot,” he had explained.