'Rest' for national football team saves it from Mumbai rains

A 'rest day' Tuesday for members of the Indian football team, who have been training here for an upcoming tournament, spared them from the wrath of heavy rains that lashed the megapolis and crippled its life. Tuesday was a "full rest" day for the team, which has been training at the Mumbai Football Arena in suburban Andheri under head coach Igor Stimac, it was learnt from the team management.

On Monday night, the outfit, preparing for the four-nation Intercontinental Cup, played an intra-team friendly match at the venue amid rains. It has been also learnt that the team is staying at a hotel in suburban Juhu.

The national team took to Twitter to thank for love it received from fans in the metropolis. "Thanks for the love in Mumbai, @BluePilgrims!See you in Ahmedabad now. #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #BlueTigers," it tweeted.

The Intercontinental Cup begins July 7 in Ahmedabad, where India will take on Tajikistan in the lung opener. North Korea and Syria are the two other teams in the tournament. Mumbai was Tuesday paralysed by incessant rains which flooded several areas of the financial capital and triggered a wall collapse, killing 21 people in a northern suburb.