Rain threat shadows Indians

As per the playing terms for this tournament, there is no provision for rescheduling the league matches though a reserve date has been fixed for the July 7 final at Colombo.

The newly built stadium at this picturesque town, 150 km from the capital, received heavy rain last night and the Indians, after a brief inspection of the wet pitch and soggy outfield, returned to their hotel without any practice.

In view of the uncertainty regarding the match, neither side has finalised itsplaying eleven for tomorrow’s fixture.

India was keen to come here with a two-point edge by virtue of two consecutive wins before facing the hosts again on an uncertain pitch that may produce an unpredictable result. The Galle track earned notoriety during the Sri Lanka-New Zealand second Test which the home side managed to win with great difficulty as the pitch began turning from the very first over and became unplayable as the match progressed.

Unfortunately the Indians’ hopes of an psychological edge over the Lankans prior to tomorrow’s tie were dashed by a sharp downpour when they were cruising along comfortably towards a victory last night.

The only solace for Mohammed Azharuddin and his men was that the rain came four balls early to prevent the match being awarded in favour of the Kiwis, as according to the complicated rules India needed to score 147 in 25 overs.

India were 131 for two in 24.2 overs with Azharuddin well established with a classy 53, guiding his team towards victory when the raingod intervened.Since the match was declared abandoned as 25 overs were not sent down for the encounter to be counted as complete, the two teams were awarded one point each.

After all the three teams have played two matches each, India have three points, Sri Lanka two while the Kiwis have only one in their kitty.

The three teams play once against one another here, before they move to the Sinhalese Sports Club ground at Colombo for the third leg of the championship.