Rain has stopped!!!

It has definitely brightened up in Pallekele and the groundstaff are out to examine the pitch.

The covers are starting to come off, which is met by resounding cheers.

This bodes well as it looks like we won’t lose any overs if we are able to resume in the next few minutes.

While waiting for the play to resume after rain break, read what Sachin Tendulkar once told The Indian Express about the art of batting before and after rain

Tendulkar:

"When there is cloud cover but no rain, the period is challenging because the ball doesn’t get wet. After the rain when they are looking to start the game, the outfield is still wet. The umpires and players don’t mind playing as long as the central square is dry. It’s all fine as long as the ball is not going outside the 30-yard circle since it is mostly dry. The moment the ball starts to travel to deep square-leg, third man, fine leg and deep point, there is a problem for the fielding side. The ball starts getting wet and stops moving. It may have a fraction of seam movement but swing will stop. That is what batsmen try to do post-rain. You try to make sure the ball gets outside the 30-yard circle. It is the imbalance of the ball that causes swing. That is the reason teams try to keep one side dry and one side shiny. The moment you have players touching the dry side with their palm, the moisture is absorbed by the leather. Once that happens, the imbalance is gone. In ODI matches whenever there is dew, the first few overs are critical ones. Bowlers will get the ball to swing early because after 8-10 overs, the swing stops as the ball starts to go outside the 30-yard circle. "