Squads:
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Manish Pandey, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur
Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Kusal Perera(w), Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lasith Malinga(c), Lahiru Kumara, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan
Match abandoned without a ball being bowled.
No official word yet. Just the spectre of the wet pitch that still hangs over Barsapara. The next match will be on January 7 in Indore. Seems more and more likely the first ball of the series will be bowled there and not in Assam. "Schoolboy error that the water has seeped onto the pitch. Perhaps there are a few holes in the covers," says Akash Chopra from the ground.
Inspection underway. Umpires seen shaking their heads and walking away. Final word soon. Akash Chopra says from the ground we should be bracing for some bad news.
Work continues on the pitch. Patches on the pitch being hammered right now. Next (and possibly final) inspection in 5 minutes. Cut-off time for a match is 20 minutes away - 9:46 pm.
Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan seen near the crowd. Harbhajan does a few Bhangra moves to get the crowd going. There has been no cricket to entertain the Barsapara crowd today, Harbhajan ensures the party atmosphere continues. 15 minutes till the next (and possibly final inspection).
The cut-off time for a five-over game is 9:46 PM. The crowd are anxiously waiting for the action to start. The umpires are yet to take a call.
Yes, you read that right. The groundsmen are using 'desi jugaad' to dry the pitch. An attempt to dry the pitch with hairdryer and steam iron. Gautam Gambhir is in splits after seeing the use of hairdryer. This is the definition of bizarre.
The next inspection will be at 9 PM. A light roller coupled with a vacuum cleaner to dry the pitch.
After the rain made a comeback, it has stopped now and the pitch repair act continues with the vacuum cleaner.
Good news! The drizzle has stopped. Groundsmen hurry inside to continue their work in drying up the outfield.
The rain continues in Guwahati. An added layer of protection has been added to protect the area around the pitch. Protecting the ground from further damage (wet patches were the primary concern till about 15 minutes ago) is on the agenda, but till the drizzle stops, there cannot be any good news. Next inspection still scheduled for 9 pm but we need rain to stop soon for that to go ahead.
Rain returns! Well, for all you optimistic souls out there, looks like tonight is a test of resolve. The covers are brought back on as the rain returns in Guwahati.
The inspection scheduled for 8:15 is off! There are some damp areas on the field, and umpires decide more work is done before a diagnosis can be given. Moppers have been brought out to dry the field. New inspection will be held at 9 pm. This delay means that we are almost assured to be denied a full 40-over match.
The rain seems to have stopped for a while. The two umpires have gone out on the pitch and after some inspection, they have told the groundstaff to remove the covers. Looks like we are going to have some cricket in Guwahati!
Lots of injuries last year, but it's part and parcel of the game. It's a new year, looking forward to a new start. I always take things in a positive manner. Injuries are natural, just take them in my stride. Looking forward to score lots of runs this year, be a more impactful player, win matches for my team and win the World Cup. This series is a good opportunity for me to score runs. I am always developing my game, developing new shots.
This doesn't look like a good sight inside the stadium!
Intermittent clouds which you obviously can't see and as we speak the rain continues to come down harder!
Surprise, surprise! It is raining in Guwahati just minutes before the start of the match.
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah
Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera(wk), Oshada Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Lasith Malinga(c)
Happy to bat first. Don't think the track will change too much. We have prepared well and will want to put it into performances. Need to put runs on the board and then take it from there. We have brought 16 players as we need to finetune our combination for the World Cup. Three seamers and two spinners for us. Need five genuine bowlers to put pressure on India.
We're gonna bowl first. We haven't played here in a while. The last time we played here, we chased well. The game we played prior to that against Australia, they chased well too. The track does play differently in the second half as compared to the first part. It's a good thing actually, there isn't too much of a difference in conditions, except that the track settles down better later on with the wet ball. Last year was outstanding for us in two formats, T20s not so much. Good thing though is that we have a World Cup coming up and we'll be taking things more seriously.
Virat Kohli wins toss, elects to field first.
Sunil Gavaskar spots plenty of cracks on the Guwahati pitch. He feels that the spinners will have a good night today and will get a lot of purchase from the pitch. The batsmen might find it difficult to get going.
A packed crowd in Guwahati and nothing that can be used as a background for text messages will be allowed inside the stadium in India vs Sri Lanka 1st T20I in Guwahati on Sunday. Placards showing 'W', '4' and '6' are also banned because they could be used for hidden messages.
Did you know- Barsapara Cricket Stadium is officially known as Dr Bhupen Hazarika Cricket Stadium and nicknamed Assam Cricket Association Stadium. It is India’s 49th international cricket venue which hosts both national and international cricket matches.
Yuzvendra Chahal needs just one wicket to become the leading wicket-taker against Sri Lanka in the format. With 14 wickets from five matches, he is tied with South Africa's Imran Tahir, Australia's Adam Zampa, Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi. The leg-spinner has been in and out of the side of late but his performance makes him a default pick for the Guwahati T20I.
Sri Lankan skipper Lasith Malinga is the leading wicket-taker in the world in T20I format with 106 wickets from 79 games. But, only four of these wickets came against India. Malinga has played seven T20Is against India including four matches where he remained wicketless.
Virat Kohli has scored four half-centuries in four innings in the format against Sri Lanka. Kohli needs just seven more runs to become India's leading T20I run-scorer against Sri Lanka. Will the Indian skipper continue to dominate tonight?
Its time for India vs Sri Lanka, 1st T20I from the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. It rained two days before the game but the forecast cleared up pretty significantly a day before the game. Expect plenty of runs and both teams will hope to chase. The winter chill has picked up as well and that means dew will be a key factor. Stay tuned for live updates.