Match abandoned without a ball bowled (no toss)
19:48 Local Time, 14:18 GMT, 19:48 IST: Uh-oh! This was always coming, wasn't it? The rain seems to be on a mission in Dharamsala and the game has been abandoned. Such a dampener. The amount of water this ground has taken....woof! You can literally swim across the turf and perhaps hope to sieze a fish or two. Both teams will now head to Mohali for the second game of the series on Wednesday. The weather for that one looks promising and we hope to have a full game come mid-week. Do remember to join us for that. Sadly, that is all we have from this encounter. Until next time, adios from the team.
Rishabh Raj: Is the ground fully covered? Asking this because of the unusual practice in England to cover only squares. -- It is not covered fully but it is also not only the square. We can say three-fourth of the ground is covered.
19:00 Local Time, 13:30 GMT, 19:00 IST: "The rain did slow down for 5-7 minutes in between, but it's picked up again. And is quite heavy. It doesn't look too promising at the moment, honestly." - Purnima.
Rohit Ramanathan: @Rahul: As the game keeps developing, its highly important we have good batsmen, good bowlers, good fielders and some good backup options as well. And exactly what India is trying. India is trying to get enough options in case some players have a bad day!
Jayachander M: Instead of having depth in batting beyond number 7, have quality bowlers who can win you matches with their bowling.
Saurabh: @Rahul it's not only about finishing the game but having batting depth can allow the main batsmen to play fierce and attacking cricket like West Indies and England!
18:47 Local Time, 13:17 GMT, 18:47 IST: "The rain has got heavier," pings Purnima from the ground. The umbrellas are up and people are trying to get under shelter. The ground has taken a beating as there are large puddles being formed in the outfield. Even when the rain stops the groundsmen will have a herculean task to get ready to play. Let's hope for the best..
Shyam: Wrist spinners are ruling the rankings in T20s so you can't imagine a team without a wrist spinner in this era of wrist spinners.
Rahul: I don't really buy the philosophy of having batting depth at the lower order, if 7 batsmen are not able to win you a game you shouldn't be expecting the job to be done by men coming after number 7.
Jovin Rodrigues: The reason Chahal and Kuldeep aren't selected is mainly because India is looking for depth in their batting lineup. Krunal, Jadeja, Sundar and R Chahar provide the much needed boost to India's lower order.
18:30 Local Time, 13:00 GMT, 18:30 IST: The toss has been certainly delayed. And there is a drizzle currently going on. This will not help the groundsmen who are working away with mops and super soppers to clear the water. In fact the groundsmen are walking away to wait for it to completely stop. Not looking good at the moment.
Sangy: Kuldeep & Chahal---Waiting Mode---- Looking for new player which can help to win more games as batsmen cannot judge new spinners line and length.
As we wait for more updates, here is something to keep us occupied. India have not picked their two wrist spinners - Kuldeep and Chahal - for two successive T20I series. Are they looking for batting depth? Or is there some other reason? Shoot your answers through Have Your Say and mobile users can tweet with #CBHaveYourSay. Above is what Kohli feels about the selection.
18:05 Local Time, 12:35 GMT, 18:05 IST: "It rained quite heavily for half an hour in the afternoon around 3, and then steady rain till 5:30 in Dharamsala. The floodlights are on. There are some dark clouds still. But the rain has stopped for now," is the latest update from Purnima. The covers are also coming off but like I said earlier a lot of water has been collected and the groundsmen have their hands full.
Harsha Bhogle: Only a slight drizzle now, which looks like it could end soon, but there is a lot of water on the covers and on the ground. Cut off is 21.46 so lots of time
Weather update: It has been raining for the last two days in Dharamsala and it is no surprise that the covers are in place right now. The Indian players have arrived to the ground but are still in their dressing room. Since the intensity of rain has been high, there are puddles formed on the areas which are not covered. Hope it clears up soon and we get a game in. Fingers crossed!
18:00 Local Time, 12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST: Today marks the start of India's home season. First up will be a three-match T20I series against South Africa. The focus has shifted from 50-over cricket to 20-over cricket as the World T20 is just over a year away. India have 27 games from today till the beginning of the tournament to sort out their best possible combination. South Africa, on the other hand, have rested a couple of their key players like Faf du Plessis and Imran Tahir, the inexperienced squad is being led by Quinton de Kock and they will hope the newcomers will grab the opportunity.
Preview by Purnima Malhotra
Rohit Sharma, clad in the sparkling new team jersey that was due to be unveiled moments later, strode out with a bat in hand on the side of the Dharamsala strip that was being given its final touches, a member of the support staff in tow. And barely a dozen throwdowns later, went running back for cover. The predicted afternoon rainfall took over, threatening to wash away India's only practice session scheduled ahead of the T20I series opener against South Africa.
Even with the little indoor nets they could get - as opposed to South Africa's week of blood, sweat and tears in the unrelenting heat - India start as overwhelming favourites.
In their limited T20I rivalry, South Africa do boast of a 100% win record against India in India; and in the current standings are placed just above their hosts on No. 3. But this South African team bears very little resemblance to the ones that achieved those feats, as is the case with any team in transition. This 14-member touring party has a combined experience of 210 T20Is. That's nine less than India's - wait for it - top-three alone. One of the three players who remains from the successful 2015 tour has played one-third of this 210, while the other has barely three games to his name since the last T20 World Cup in 2016. That's about how much the gulf there is between the two sides - at least on paper.
Nonetheless, as the old adage goes, on the day even one madcap individual performance is enough to turn the tables. That's precisely what South Africa would be hoping for in the three-match series while they piece their team together in the backdrop.
India is, by no means, an easy place to tour, and in a World Cup year, you'd expect a team to put together their best available resources. That ain't the case here, at least to start off their preparations with. South Africa are understandably remodeling after the debacle called the World Cup 2019, and there are gaping holes in the batting order, part due to retirements and part due to some bizarre non-selections. Quinton de Kock will consequently be shouldering the responsibility of this vastly inexperienced batting line-up with his deputy Rassie van der Dussen, who'd be expected to replicate his World Cup form and the uncapped yet reliable Temba Bavuma. David Miller is another one of the long-standing links, and while he may not be the finisher he once was not so long ago, he doubles up as one of the handful of experienced personnel on tour who need step up if South Africa were to pose any serious threat for India.
This is not to suggest that India's T20 game is in the pink of health. Far from it, by their own admission. There's a willingness to adapt and learn from the mistakes, though.
It starts with the batting itself which, even with two of the premier batsmen in their ranks, needs to fall in place, particularly the hotly-debated middle-order roles. India may not have entirely fallen out of love with KL Rahul yet, but Shikhar Dhawan did seem to earn his form and confidence back in the series against South Africa A to be the first-choice opening partner for Rohit on Sunday despite dwindling returns in T20Is all year long. And the never-ending search for better team balance leaves no room for the third prospective opener to be accommodated down the order anymore.
The hosts have preferred Shreyas Iyer for the longer of the two white-ball formats, but with his runs in the West Indies ODIs - especially the quickfire 65 not out in a rain-curtailed Game 3 - he might have pipped the underwhelming Manish Pandey in the race for India's interchangeable No. 4-5 in the shortest format too. There's more cushion for Rishabh Pant now with the return of Hardik Pandya, allowing him more time and breathing space to settle into the role of the finisher. In any case, the more all-rounders India are looking to pack in their line-up offers a tad bit more freedom to everyone that bat above them.
Moreover, for this series in particular, also provides a cover for the lack of.expertise in the pace-bowling department - a weakness South Africa openly admitted are looking to exploit.
When: India vs South Africa, 1st T20I, Sunday, September 15 at 7 pm IST | 1:30pm GMT
Where: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
What to expect: It's rained, and quite heavily so, for two nights in a row in the lead-up and there's a definite chill in the air once the sun sets. On top of it, there are showers forecast for the match day, though likely that it'll subside by the time the game is scheduled to get underway. Expect the conditions and expected dew to have a say in the team makeup. The pitch has a fair tinge of green but how much of it is still there tomorrow remains to be seen. For now, it's under three firm layers of covers and unlikely to get any more time in the sun.
Team News
India: As unsettled as India's batting is at the moment, it's the bowling that bears an undercooked look and throws up various permutations to try what provides best balance. India have used Washington Sundar in the powerplay and might be tempted at the prospect of the match-up between him and Quinton de Kock. Conversely, he might become the causality due to the impending return of Hardik. Death-overs specialist Deepak Chahar along with the express pace of Saini will likely round off India's attack together with Krunal and Jadeja.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar/Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini
South Africa: Lance Klusener backed Temba Bavuma against the red-ball specialist allegations, all but confirming his T20I debut on Sunday. For all the talk of inexperience in their batting, the squad is actually well-stocked with handy all-rounders and that is all South Africa might need to look at instead of trying to unearth the next wonder-kid. It'll be a toss-up between Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius and uncapped left-arm spin all-rounder George Linde depending upon what make-up South Africa are looking at. Tabraiz Shamsi has a brilliant opportunity to step out of the shadows of Imran Tahir and nail down his spot. The pace department, led by Kagiso Rabada, has ample prospects to not feel the pinch left by Lungi Ngidi's absence. Junior Dala's impressive record against Rohit could earn him a spot in the starting eleven. Anrich Nortje played a vital hand in South Africa A's lone win in the recent series by triggering a late Indian collapse and could have well earned his maiden cap through it.
Probable XI: Quinton de Kock (c), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Beuran Hendricks, Junior Dala/Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.
Did you know?
- India have a 1-2 win-loss record in limited-overs series openers in Dharamsala. They lost the only game they played against South Africa here, despite Rohit's maiden T20I hundred.
What they said
"Looking at the Indian team, that is an area we are going to take advantage of. They are great cricketers and we are not taking anything away from that and our focus will be on ourselves and little areas that we can take advantage and maybe that's one of them," Lance Klusener, South Africa's white-ball assistant batting coach, on India's amateur bowling attack
"Look, experience is always going to matter whether you like it or not. I mean there are a numerous number of times people have given up on sportsmen and they have proved people wrong and he has done that many times in his career as well. So one great thing about him is that he thinks for India cricket. And whatever we think, he is on the same page. The alignment is there," Indian captain Virat Kohli on where MS Dhoni fits in his plans for the T20 side if at all.
Teams:
India (From): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey, Rahul Chahar, K Khaleel Ahmed
South Africa (From): Quinton de Kock(w/c), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Beuran Hendricks, Junior Dala, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje, Bjorn Fortuin, George Linde