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India and Sri Lanka clash in the first of three ODIs between the two sides at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. The Men in Blue ride into the 50-over match series with confidence, having beaten their subcontinental rivals but will be wary of the threat that the Sri Lankans possess, having lost the second T20I in the recently-concluded 20-over match series.
What will the weather be like?
All eyes will be on Suryakumar Yadav for India, with the explosive batter smashing an unbeaten 112 in the final T20I. He is in fine touch as the spectators attending the match will be welcomed with clear skies and a very little chance of rain.
According to accuweather.com, the temperature in Guwahati will be at its peak at 26° celsius. There is also a zero chance of precipitation and winds are expected to gush at about 15 kmph as the game goes on, making it a pleasant day to both play the game, or enjoy it in the stands.
Threat of... snakes?
However, the match might face delay or even be cancelled because of a non-weather-related reason. Recapping India's T20I series against South Africa in October 2022, the match was brought to a halt after a snake was spotted by South African fielders and pointed out to Indian opener KL Rahul and the umpires.
Then, the groundsmen came to the rescue, catching hold of the snake with the necessary equipment as the players took an unofficial drinks break as the reptile was taken off the ground.
In that same game, the second innings also witnessed a lengthy timeout after one of the floodlight towers lost power.
The incident took place in the third over of South Africa's run chase. After Deepak Chahar delivered the first ball of the third over, one of the light towers stopped functioning. The wait continued for more than 10 minutes. The players took an extended break as they interacted with each other with the stadium personnel trying to get the light tower running back again.
What was said before the match?
Meanwhile, ahead of the ODI series opener, Rohit Sharma confirmed that India will be without Ishan Kishan, who recently struck a record-breaking double century in the third ODI against Bangladesh. In his stead, Shubman Gill will be given a 'fair run'.
"Both openers (Gill and Kishan) have done really well. But looking at how both have gone through, I think it is fair that we give Gill a chance to have a fair run because, in the last games, Gill got a lot of runs as well. I am not going to take anything from Ishan. He has been wonderful to us. He got a double hundred and I know what it takes to get a double hundred, it is a great achievement. But just to be honest and be fair to the guys who have done really well before that we need to give those guys enough chances as well," Rohit said in the press conference.
India's ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh.
Sri Lanka's ODI squad: Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis (vc), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwanidu Fernando (ODIs), Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara.
