Rain scare before Scot ODI

Having tamed the English in their den, that too in a Test series after 21 long years, India are on their way to Glasgow to take on minnows Scotland...

Having tamed the English in their den, that too in a Test series after 21 long years, India are on their way to Glasgow to take on minnows Scotland in a one-off one-day match tomorrow.

Success, though not without controversy, has made the Indian camp confident. Tomorrow8217;s match will not only be a warm-up to the forthcoming seven-match ODI series against England, but assumes significance as India will play their first match in the Twenty20 world championships against them on September 13 in Durban.

Weather permitting8212;there is forecast of rain for tomorrow8212;India should not really have too much of trouble putting it across the Scots. Skipper Rahul Dravid, before leaving for Glasgow, said: 8220;Tomorrow8217;s match is important as we will play our first match in the Twenty20 world championships against them.8221;

The skipper added that all the five new players in the squad will get a chance to play in the ODIs at some point or the other in the coming series against England.

Glasgow is a place of which Dravid has fond memories. He had lived here for three months with his wife. 8220;It was kind of a honeymoon period. I have good memories of Glasgow,8221; he said. He had also played here in 2003 for Scotland on the county circuit in 11 National Cricket League games.

India had defeated South Africa in Ireland, prior to the Tests in England, and Dravid would want to keep that momentum going.

For the hosts Scotland, the match will be a learning experience and they will be able to test themselves against their much fancied opponents.

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However, the one-off tie would be at the mercy of the rain gods with the weathermen predicting rain. Scotland have played seven one-dayers8212;Australia 2, Pakistan 2, the West Indies 2 and South Africa 18212; and have yet to record a victory.

They, however, had beaten Ireland8212;who did remarkably well in the World Cup 8212;this season to win their first-ever match against their traditional rivals in four attempts.

For India, Munaf Patel, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla and Gautam Gambhir have a point to prove.

The hosts have summoned all their top stars who were busy playing county cricket. Scotland8217;s captain Ryan Watson will look for support from his trusted teammates Navdeep Poonia, Gavin Hamilton, John Blain and Dewald Nel.With agency inputs from Glasgow