Sri Lanka vs India, 1st ODI at Colombo, , Aug 18 2006 - Ball by Ball Commentary

11:33 local time - Sadly enough the umpires have decided to abandon the match. The outfield is in a pretty bad shape and they concluded that it was not possible to start the game by 15:00 local time, which was the cut off time for the 40 overs required for a result. The second match of the series will be played tomorrow at the same venue, WEATHER PERMITTING. That's it from me Sajan Nair, good bye and good luck.

10:45 local time - The last shower lasted for about forty minutes and the shower hit the ground when the groundstaff had just about finished removing the covers, when it was most vulnerable. That has more or less ended any hope of getting in even the 40 overs required for a result. However the sun is back and there is still a ray of hope. Next inspection will be held at 13:45 local time.

10:19 local time - The return of the tormentor... In just a matter of 10 minutes the conditions turned upside down, from bright and sunny to dark and cloudy in a blink of an eye. It's pelting down at the moment and it's looking all too familiar... As they say - The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.

10:00 local time - Yesterday's torrential shower which instigated the abandoning of play did last for quite a long time and today morning the ground was hit by few passing showers. Surprisingly the outfield is in a pretty good shape and the groundstaff are confident that the ground will be fit for play in an hour, provided there is no further downpour. There is always that threat...

At the moment the Sinhalese Sports Club is bathed in sunshine but things can change very quickly in these parts of the world when it comes to the weather. The forecast is for rains in the afternoon. Any delay today will affect the number of overs to be bowled in the day. Already we are looking at a shortened game and further delays will be catastrophic.

9.25 local time - Good morning. After a week of rain we finally have a reasonably good day, today looks brighter and less threatening and the news from the ground is that the umpires are looking at a 11:00 am (local time) start.

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Umpires having a chat now - should be about the light.

There you go - Light has been offered to the batsmen and off they go. It has gone quite dark here in the last ten minute or so. It's not raining at the moment but the groundstaffs have moved in with the covers.

The Sinhalese Sports Club has a better drainage system but ironically there are no floodlights and we are at the mercy of the weather Gods. Dravid and Tendulkar have made their way back to the pavilion but the Sri Lankan players are still hanging around...

(15:00 local time) - And the heavens open up - not heavy at the moment but just enough for the umpires to call in the pitch covers - we are back to square one.

15:12 local time - It started as a light drizzle but now it's pelting down and with the chances of play resuming any time soon looking bleak the umpires have decided to call it a day. So just 3.4 overs bowled in the day, probably they were having a drinks break upstairs. Remember this is a two-day ODI and weather permitting the game will be continued tomorrow. The forecast is not that promising and all we can do is wait and watch.

And the dark clouds are back - the ground staffs are getting ready with the cover.

Malinga to share the new ball with Vaas.

Good morning and welcome to Cricinfo's live coverage of the 1st ODI between India and Sri Lanka. Rain, rain and more rain ... that as they say is that. The ground was hit by early morning showers and the outfield is water logged, there are few ominous wet patches near the pitch too. All the covers are in place and as usual it's going to be a long wait.

It did rain last night but the bulk of the damage was inflicted by heavy showers in the early hours of the day. It has stopped raining but it's still very overcast and the sun is hidden away behind dark clouds. The Sinhalese Sports Club was chosen as the venue for this three-match series because of the better drainage facilities but at the moment chances of play looks bleak, we will keep you updated on the news as it happens.

Update (11:00 am local time) - The situation is still grim. There will be an inspection at 12:30 pm. In the meantime the players have gone back to their hotel.

Update (12:49 local time) - Finally, some good news: The sun is out and there will be a pitch inspection at 13:00. The covers are off and the stumps are in place but there are still few wet patches in the outfield and at the moment that's what is holding up proceedings. The buzz is that we will get 50 overs of play today and the remainder will be played out tomorrow.

Update (13:11 local time) News just filters in that the umpires are looking at a 14:30 start. It has been decided that the game will be played over two days. Weather permitting, there will be three-and-a-half hours of play today, with the remainder of the game to be continued tomorrow.

It's the start of a big season with a World Cup attached to it at the tail end and both India and Sri Lanka will be looking forward to a good beginning. In recent times, Sri Lanka has been the launching pad of the Indian season. But the last time the Indians won a series in Sri Lanka was in 1998 when they won a 3-match series 2-1 and they will be hoping to break the Lankan jinx this time around. Sri Lanka on the other hand have won 45 out of 60 matches played in Sri Lanka since 2000 and they will surely start off as favourites.

Sri Lanka eleven - Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando, CK Kapugedera, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas.

India eleven - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar.

Indian captain Rahul Dravid has won the toss and elected to bat first.

Surprisingly Marvan Atapattu is missing from the starting line-up. He was proclaimed fit so it looks like he has been dropped unless proven otherwise. As far as India are concerned, the big news is of course the return of the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and there is a chance that Rahul Dravid might open the innings with him.. I'm Sajan Nair and along with Sriram Veera, will take you through the day's proceedings.

Players are out there in the middle and we are all set for the start. It will be Tendulkar and Dravid to open the innings. Chaminda Vaas is at the top of his run-up - here we go.