The teams are out in the middle, warming up. We should have play soon.
And the skippers are walking out for the toss.
Malinga wins the toss and elects to bowl first.
Dhoni was also looking to bowl first. He doesn't expect the wicket to change much.
Dhoni: Kohli has taken the responsibility of scoring. He bats higher up the order and in this format, others don't get a chance to bat as much.
Dhoni: SL are one of the sides, along with the others, who play well in ICC tournaments.
IND XI: RG Sharma, A Rahane, V Kohli, Y Singh, S Raina, MS Dhoni, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, A Mishra, B Kumar, M Sharma
SL XI: K Perera, T Dilshan, M Jayawardene, K Sangakkara, A Mathews, L Thirimanne, T Perera, N Kulasekara, S Senanayake, R Herath, L Malinga
India's national anthem has just ended. Huge cheers.
The Sri Lankan anthem is a long one. It's been on for a while.
And it finally ends. Get ready for the cricket. This should be crazy fun.
And to begin the match, we have Malinga giving the Sri Lankan team a pep talk in the huddle.
India have won 88 percent of the matches when Kohli scores 40+. So that is key.
Similarly for Sri Lanka, if Jayawardene gets more than 40, then SL win 83 percent of the time.
Rahane and Rohit Sharma are in the middle. Kulasekara has the new ball. He might get some swing because of the rain.
First ball, a bit too straight, Rohit flicks it away for a single. Ind 1-0.
After 1 over: India are 4-0. Very good start by Kula. He has got some movement and that is never good for the batsmen. Steady start. He was a bit too straight and India got two singles.
@oks: Interesting! Let's hope so...
Mathews is in from the other end. Malinga saving himself for later. Against West Indies, he had come on early. Probably saving himself for Kohli.
BOWLED! Mathews gets Rahane. India 4-1. Rahane made 3. The rain seems to have spiced up the wicket a little. That came in and bounced too. Rahane tried to hit across the line, bottom edge, on to the thigh and then the stumps. Bam!
Kohli in the middle and he is greeted by a bounce. Mathews getting some good carry.
After 2 overs, India are 5-1.
You can't keep Kohli quiet for long. Uses his wrists, and hits the ball from outside off-stump for four. Classy shots. India 9-1.
There there. A swing and a miss outside the off-stump by Kohli. He needs to avoid that. India 9-1. Good bowling by Kula.
After 3 overs: India 11-1.
Mathews comes in for another over -- he conceded just one run in his first over. The SL bowlers have managed to keep India quiet so far.
After 4 overs: India are 15-1. That is 20 percent of the overs bowled very well, according to Harsha Bhogle on twitter.
Importantly for SL, Malinga hasn't bowled a single over yet. India handle him well but still, he is the world's best T20 fast bowler.
Senanayake is into the attack. India's first taste of spin.
And Rohit picks Sena off his legs, it was too short, the batsman had time and one bounce into the square leg boundary. India 21-1
And that was a chance! Kohli hit it straight to Malinga and Rohit set off for a single. Not a direct hit. Rohit survives. India 23-1.
After 5 overs, India 23-1. Things still very much in control for SL. Great bowling. India look like they will start going for their shots against the spinners. As Shastri would say: Vital phase of the game coming up.
by jatinsapru via twitter 4/6/2014 12:03:06 PM
by Anirudh Chaudhry via twitter 4/6/2014 12:31:41 PM
My tip: India to win unless Duckworth Lewis comes in! And unlike elections, no Siberia plan if my prediction goes wrong! Enjoy the game!by Rajdeep Sardesai via twitter 4/6/2014 1:33:02 PM
by fwildecricket via twitter 4/6/2014 1:42:21 PM
by Alt Cricket via twitter 4/6/2014 1:45:17 PM
Talented Rohit Sharma bashes the ball for 4.Had it crossed the boundary for a 6, a Kotak Mahindra bank 6% interest ad would be playing now.by jhunjhunwala via twitter 4/6/2014 2:01:19 PM