Rain threat to India-Australia T20 game in Rajkot

Inclement weather poses a threat to the India-Australia T20 international in Rajkot on Thursday, with the Met department forecasting rainfall over the next 48 hours.

There was a heavy downpour on Tuesday afternoon and unseasonal showers could disrupt the one-off T20 game, to be held at the newly-built Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium, on the city's outskirts.

However, SCA sources said the match isn't likely to be affected, as the ground has a good drainage mechanism.

"It rained heavily for three days last week but the outfield and wickets were not affected," they said.

"Even if it rains two or three hours prior to the start of match, we can have the match with a slight delay, provided it doesn't rain too heavily tomorrow."

The stadium has a seating capacity of 28,000 and around 80 per cent of the tickets for the match are sold.

Seven Indian players -- comeback man Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra and local boy Jaydev Unadkat -- had a net session for over two hours on Tuesday.

The other members of the Indian squad, including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, are scheduled to arrive on Tuesday night.

The Australian team, which practiced at the Cricket Club of India, in Mumbai, after landing in the country last Saturday, is also slated to reach the city by the same flight.

Meanwhile, BCCI curator for Western Region Dhiraj Parsana said the Rajkot pitch is full of runs.

"This is a good batting track and the wicket is full of runs. It will help batsmen to score runs freely," he said.

"It's a flat wicket and, therefore, any score over 170 would be a fighting total."

The first four to five overs of the match should help seamers and then the wicket will become flat and easy for batting, Parsana added.

But local pitch curator Rasik Makwana said even 200 runs will not be a safe total on this track.

"This is a batting paradise and even 200-plus runs would not be easy to defend."

Both teams are scheduled to practice at the venue on Wednesday morning,

SCA media manager Himanshu Shah said.

Image: The Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium in Rajkot