Rain may play spoilsport in the India v Sri Lanka 1st ODI at Dharamsala

Following a 1-0 victory against Sri Lanka in the 3-match Test series, the Rohit Sharma-led India team will be aiming to extend their dominion in the upcoming limited-overs leg of the series. The first match kicks off tomorrow at the hallowed turf of Dharamsala. It will be a nice change of venue for the players from the smog-covered Delhi to the serene Himachal Pradesh.

However, the opening ODI at the picturesque stadium in Dharamsala has now come under threat with the local weather bureau on Friday forecasting widespread rain and snow in the state. It has been cursed with unending rain on the eve of the tie with more showers predicted by the weather department for the next 48 hours.

An active western disturbance is likely to affect northwest India on December 10 and will continue for two subsequent days. Manmohan Singh, director of the Meteorological Office in Shimla, confirmed the news.

He said, “Isolated heavy rain and snowfall very likely to occur over Himachal Pradesh on December 11 and 12 and scattered activity on December 13.”

HPCA officials not worried about rain

The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) on the contrary is not worried about the Met Office forecasts. Media manager for the HPCA, Mohit Sood was quoted as saying by IANS, “Our groundsmen are fully prepared to handle any situation owing to the rainfall. We even have three super soakers to mop up the ground.”

The Dharamsala stadium is situated at an altitude of 4,000 feet in the backdrop of the Dhauladhar ranges that are already wrapped in a thick blanket of snow. The big-budget stadium first figured on the world cricketing map when it hosted a warm-up fixture between Pakistan and the Board President’s XI in 2005. It is also the first in India to use winter rye grass scattered around the outfield. This prevents the grass from dying when temperatures falls below 10 degrees Celsius.