4th ODI abandoned due to rain

1800 Hrs: With the drizzle continuing to come down, and with the groundstaff estimating that they would need close to two hours to mop up the water off the covers and to get the field ready for play, the umpires, closing in on the cut-off time, decided to abandon play for the day.

It will however be replayed tomorrow – which is the reserve day for this match.

1730 Hrs: The drizzle, which delayed the start of the fourth one day international between Sri Lanka and India, slowed down. However, the damage seemed to have been done, as the drizzle had left large puddles on the covers, and the estimate was that it would take at least a couple of hours for the groundstaff to get the water off the covers and get the field ready for play to begin.

At the time of writing this report, it looked highly unlikely that we could get a game today.

Credit to the crowds though, who’ve continued to stay on, with their bands and music and all that, hoping for at least a 20-over bash.

The cut-off time for a 20-over contest is 2015 Hrs local time, and for play to begin then, the groundstaff have to get to work latest by 1845 Hrs local time.

The officials though aren’t that worried, as they have a reserve day for this match.

1530 Hrs: With the drizzle not letting down, the Indian team decided to head back to its hotel, while the Sri Lankans, who are trailing 1-2 after three matches, decided to remain at the ground.

The conditions haven’t improved one bit since the first drizzle started at 1330 Hrs local time. In fact, if anything, the groundstaff have now covered almost the entire ground, and a lot of water has collected on top of the covers.

The drizzle is still on, and the sky has just got a lot more gloomier – reports from the ground say it doesn’t look encouraging at all.

1410 Hrs: A sharp drizzle is expected to delay the start of the fourth One Day International between Sri Lanka and India at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

The drizzle started around 1330 Hrs local time, and although it wasn’t really threatening enough to cause any damage to the playing conditions, the ground staff covered most part of the ground with the covers.

The sky looks rather gloomy, and while that does dampen spirits, localites seem to think that the showers won’t last for long.

The groundsman at the Premadasa Stadium, Anirudha Polonovita, opined that once the drizzle had ceased, his staff would need close to thirty minutes for mopping up the covers and to get the surface ready for play.

Just in case this match is washed out today, authorities have made provision for a reserve day – tomorrow is the official reserve day.

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