Team India have to get their act together

Bowlers are shaping up well, but will have to make up for the loss of Balaji, writes Kadambari Murali.

It's been a sublime couple of days here at the Rose Bowl. The weather has been fantastic, with a warm sun and calming breeze. The hollowed out green valley of the nursery ground where the Indian team has been practising, is the type of place that can get poets to wax lyrical. And after the traffic and noise that is typically London, this sleepy town is a haven of peace.

Of course, it was too good to last. The weathermen had predicted rain over the weekend. Well, then the weekend came early, late on Thursday night or very early Friday, depending on how you're looking at it. Waking up on Friday to grey skies and the rhythmic sound of the rain hitting the window does not make the best news on Day One of the Champions Trophy.

But from an Indian perspective, as they want to get time in the middle, it's better than being in Birmingham. At the Edgbaston, where England take on Zimbabwe, it was reportedly coming down in sheets. The Australians were due to play Hampshire in a practice game at Bournemouth, 30 miles from here, but that's been abandoned without a ball being bowled on Friday. Here, they're still saying that play might be rain-interrupted, but you would get a full match on Saturday. Let's see.

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