India-Lanka ODI: Day 1

Master Blaster made a return to international cricket after a five month injury lay-off.

Inclement weather yet again played dampener in much-anticipated clash between India and Sri Lanka on Friday.

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After electing to bat, skipper Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar walked to a resounding applause by the spectators, who expectedly hoped for some cricketing action. But 11 runs and 3.4 overs later, heavy rainfall forced the players to scurry back for cover.

With sunset in the offing and no lights to aid Colombo SSC, the umpires promptly called off play for the day. India will resume from 11/0 tomorrow, if weather permits.

The forecast though looks bleak and only action possible will be heavily curtailed. At least 40 overs need to be played to constitute a valid match.

In a series that had not witnessed a ball being bowled until today, the fate of the match looked sealed after torrential showers battered the capital city early this morning, soaking the outfield with rain-water.

However, diligent effort by the groundstaff along with unexpected spell of sunshine just after noon, made sure the players at least made a brief appearence after four-and-a-half hours of delay.

Master Blaster made a return to international cricket after a five month lay-off and made 2 runs while skipper Dravid stroked 9. The unbeaten duo had to walk off soon enough after rain gods took over the skyline once again.

Playing XI

Sri Lanka: S Jayasuriya, U Tharanga, M Jayawardene (c), KC Sangakkara (wk), TM Dilshan, CK Kapugedera, MF Maharoof, C Vaas, M Muralitharan, L Malinga, D Fernando

India: V Sehwag, S Tendulkar, R Dravid (c), Yuvraj Singh, M Kaif, MS Dhoni (wk), I Pathan, A Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, R Powar, M Patel