India vs South Africa Highlights 1st ODI: Sanju Samson entertains with 63-ball 86, SA beat IND by 9 runs

“It comes down to the cliche - control what you can only control. Unfortunately the rain is around and we can't do much about it, hopefully we can get on to play. I think T20 and One-Day cricket are kind of similar, it is just a longer version of it. You have similar gameplans and obviously it is less pressure than T20s, I would say the processes are pretty similar. Lucky enough with leagues like the IPL, we play a lot with these players and against them as well, so information can be easily passed around. Analysis has been done and has to be done.”

Word from the middle is that it has stopped raining but the covers remain firmly on. It could be just a precautionary measure or it could also be that the groundstaff, who know the weather here far better than anyone else, anticipate another spate of showers soon. 

And this time, the BCCI has not said by how much. “Rain has gotten heavier here in Lucknow and the toss has been delayed. We will be back with further updates shortly," it said. 

It seems that it is only raining even more heavily now and we are almost certainly going to have a further delay. Keep an eye on this space, folks. 

Well word from the middle is that the covers are coming back on as the showers return. None of this is looking good at all. 

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma missed the ODI series in England in July because of an elbow injury he sustained in June. He now returns and replaces Rassie van der Dussen, who broke a finger in September.

This may be an ODI series but there is no doubt that it is the T20 World Cup that will be the main talking point here. For both sides, this is officially the last competition before they travel to Australia. In India's case, almost all of their main squad have set off for Australia. 

Rajat Patidar and Rahul Tripathi have both been turning heads in the IPL. While Tripathi has been doing that for a while with the bat, Patidar was mostly known as the most effective substitute fielder in the league before he took it by storm this year. Moreover, he has also carried that form into the domestic first class and List A cricket. It looks like it is going to be a contest between these two for a spot in the squad today. 

Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Aiden Markram, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje, Heinrich Klaasen, Lungi Ngidi, Reeza Hendricks

Shikhar Dhawan(c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rajat Patidar, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson(w), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Rahul Tripathi, Mukesh Kumar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi

Well, first of all there will be some cricket to look forward to. But let's go beyond that, this series features all of those players who are considered as standby to the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup. They will all be in action over the course of these next three matches and that should make for some interesting viewing.

It is grim pickings judging by what the met department says. There is set to be rains in different parts of Lucknow and that could mean multiple delays. 

We have a rain delay even before the match has started in Lucknow and the whole affair has been pushed back by half an hour. This is what the BCCI has said about it: “Rain delay! After an early inspection, the Toss and Match Time for the #INDvSA Lucknow ODI has been pushed by half an hour. The Toss will be at 1:30 PM IST. Play begins at 2:00 PM IST.”