India-Lanka tie in doubt after heavy rain, umpires to inspect ground

Colombo, Aug 16 (UNI) The Unitech tri-series match between India and Sri Lanka hangs in balance after heavy rains lashed the R Premadasa stadium this morning and the umpires will now inspect the ground at 1430 hrs (local time) to decide the fate of the tournament opener.

The sunny morning yesterday had raised the prospects of the match and it became brighter as the day progressed, allowing Team India a full practice session at the stadium.

However, things were perhaps too good to be real and heavy rain lashed the ground for four hours in the evening. The morning was not any better either and it continued to rain.

Earlier, Indian captain Rahul Dravid hoped for a smooth progression of the tournament but remained skeptical about the ground conditions. Dravid felt a heavy outfield might create problems for the match to start.

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