India vs SA 1st ODI called off due to rain

With the rain showing no signs of relenting, the first ODI in Dharamsala has been abandoned because of rain.

Earlier in the day, the toss was delayed because of wet outfield caused by heavy overnight rain.

However, the rain soon made a comeback and it continued to pour through the day forcing the umpires to call off the game.

The next two ODIs of the three-match series will be played in Lucknow (March 15) and Kolkata (March 18).

The final two games will be played in front of empty stadiums as the Indian government is taking steps to combat the spread of coronavirus.

On Thursday, the country's sports secretary said it wanted the national cricket team's upcoming matches to be played in empty stadiums - an unheard-of occurrence for one of India's national obsessions.

The chief ministers of two states where India is due to play matches against South Africa this month "have been advised to avoid gathering of people," RS Jhulaniya told Reuters. "Matches may go on without spectator crowd".

The Sports Ministry, on Thursday, dropped hints that the Indian Premier League could be held in empty stadiums due to the coronavirus pandemic even as foreign players were ruled out of the T20 league till April 15 following government-imposed travel restrictions.

The rain continues to pound the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala where it has gone completely dark.

The entire ground is under covers while the super soppers keep toiling hard to get the water off the covers.

The chances of the game getting underway keeps getting bleak with every passing minute.

The chances of the match getting underway in Dharamsala looks quite bleak at the moment as the rain continues to pour.

'The cut-off time for a 20-over match is 6:30pm IST,' BCCI tweets.

Meanwhile, the Indian government has ordered upcoming international cricket matches to be played in empty stadiums, which means the final two games of the three-match series against South Africa could be played without spectators due to the coronavirus outbreak.

On Thursday, the country's sports secretary said it wanted the Indian team's upcoming matches against South Africa to be played in empty stadiums - an unheard-of occurrence for one of India's national obsessions.

The chief ministers of two states where India is due to play matches against South Africa this month "have been advised to avoid gathering of people," RS Jhulaniya told Reuters. "Matches may go on without spectator crowd".

The remaining two matches will be played in Lucknow (March 15) and Kolkata (March 18).

Still no news from Dharamsala except that the start has been delayed.

The ground is still under covers and the super soppers continue to toil hard to remove the excess water off the covers.

It is quite dark at the HPCA stadium at the moment and plays look unlikely to start anytime soon.

The rain has made a comeback and it has gone quite dark at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala as the groundstaff bring out the covers.

"It has started to rain and there will be a further delay," tweets BCCI

This looks like a long delay. Stay tuned!

The toss has been delayed in Dharamsala because of a wet outfield caused by rain.

The umpires will conduct an inspection of the conditions at 1.15pm IST before deciding on when toss can take place and play can start.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India's medical team has told its players to avoid eating out and mingling with fans seeking selfies in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak when they take on South Africa in the ODI series, starting in Dharamsala on Thursday.

Welcome to the coverage of the first One-Day International between India and South Africa in Dharamsala, on Thursday.

Hardik Pandya's eagerly-awaited international comeback adds a lot of context to India's three-match ODI campaign against South Africa starting on Thursday where the hosts would be aiming to put the recent horror tour of New Zealand behind them.

Amid the ever-rising danger of Novel Coronavirus and threat of rain once again playing spoilsport, Pandya's all-round flamboyance will keep skipper Virat Kohli in a good headspace as he would be desperately trying to forget the 0-3 mauling in the last series in New Zealand.

Pandya last played an ODI against New Zealand in the World Cup semi-final in Manchester and his last international game was a T20 against the Proteas in Bengaluru in September last year.

He forced his way back into the national team with his all-round performances at the DY Patil Corporate Cup, where he looked completely fit and ready to go.

Especially having lost five international games (two Tests included) on trot, the Indian skipper, enduring one of his rarest of rare bad patches in last six years will be keen to buck the trend.

Kohli managed just 75 runs against the Kiwis, and going by his standards the Indian skipper would be itching to silence his critics, who have raised eyebrows after his statement on ODIs not having context in the current calendar.

The presence of Pandya along with a fit-again senior opener Shikhar Dhawan (shoulder dislocation) and seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (sports hernia surgery) makes India favourite on paper against a South African side that comprises of seasoned campaigners like Quinton d Kock, Faf du Plessis and David Miller in their ranks.

The three players automatically pick themselves in the playing XI while Manish Pandey might just get a longer run at No 6 now that Kedar Jadhav has finally been dropped from the squad.