India vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test: Rain threat looms large at Eden Gardens in Kolkata
With excitement buzzing as Test cricket returns to the country after a six-month period, the Eden Gardens Test could witness rain.
Kolkata: Cricket returns to the City of Joy, as India gear up for a three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, starting here on Friday. Virat Kohli’s men will eye their 9th consecutive bilateral series win, while the Lankans will aim to make amends when they blanked 9-0 against the hosts, across all formats in their own lair.
However, with excitement buzzing as Test cricket returns to the country after a six-month period, there is a rain threat at the Eden Gardens. This comes after the home side’s practice session in the morning was cancelled out following a short spell of shower.
The Met office has suggested that showers may continue till November 18th – Day 2 of the 1st Test – due to the influence of a well-marked low-pressure area set to move up along the Bay of Bengal situated along the Indian coast.
According to weather forecast, Day 1 of the Test may witness slight showers from 9 A.M. to 12 P.M. Though it is expected to get cloudy after that, showers may still continue between 1 P.M. – 3 P.M.
Though conditions are expected to improve following the initial days, slight showers may still linger at the venue between 10 A.M. to 3 P.M.
Despite rain threat looming large, the Eden Gardens faithful will be expecting a cracker of a contest.
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvenshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma.
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (Captain), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Niroshan Dickwella (wicketkeeper), Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Gamage, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Dasun Shanaka, Roshen Silva.
Match-timing:
The match is scheduled to start at 9 A.M. IST.