The first One-Day International between India and Sri Lanka, scheduled to begin on Sunday (December 10) in Dharamshala can be affected by rain, as the local weather bureau on Friday forecast widespread rain and snow in the state.
Manmohan Singh, director of the Meteorological Office in Shimla, stated the state is likely to come under the effect of an active western disturbance which will also take a toll on the northwest India on December 10.
Also Read: (IND vs SL 2017: Yuvraj Singh is Like a Role Model for Me – Deepak Hooda)
“Isolated heavy rain and snowfall very likely to occur over Himachal Pradesh on December 11 and 12 and scattered activity on December 13,” he said.
The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) is, however, not worried about the forecast.
“Our groundsmen are fully prepared to handle any situation owing to the rainfall. We even have three super soakers to mop up the ground,” HPCA media manager Mohit Sood said.
Meanwhile, India will be looking to start the series on a winning note if the game goes ahead. Captain Virat Kohli has been given rest for the forthcoming three-match series but the Men in Blue would still be a force to reckon with under stand-in skipper, Rohit Sharma and would start the series as firm favourites.
Also Read: (India’s Test Home Season 2016-17 In Numbers)
On the other hand, the Islanders would be desperately hoping that their fortunes change under new skipper Thisara Perera. Sri Lanka had suffered three 5-0 whitewashes this year and had managed to win just four of the 25 ODIs played in 2017.
Breathe easy in Dharamsala #TeamIndia #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/DpvQZ7KQfq
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) December 8, 2017
With neither form nor history on their side in India, it will be a herculean task for them to stun the high-flying hosts. However, with the way they managed to draw the last Test, they will back themselves to spring a surprise or two in the upcoming series.
India squad for the ODI series:
Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul.
Also Read: (IND Vs SL 2017: Siddharth Kaul Ecstatic Over Maiden India Call-Up)
Video of the day: