The focus finally seems shifting to cricket when India takes on Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday. But it may still be a while before the first ball is bowled in the jinxed Unitech Cup tri-series in Colombo.
The scheduled series opener between the hosts and South Africa was twice put off, first due to rain on Monday, and again on Tuesday, as the latter sought to pull out of the entire series following a bomb explosion not far from their hotel on Monday.
That decision has been temporarily put on hold and the South Africans are awaiting a fresh evaluation from the upgraded security arrangements by an independent expert team from the ICC.
The African team is scheduled to play India on Saturday but that will depend on the recommendations of the ICC security team.
The Indians, meanwhile, went about their task in full earnest. They had their movements restricted to their hotel premises, but that did not stop them from having a practice session in the afternoon.
"We are not bothered about the security situation," captain Rahul Dravid said.
"Maybe other teams' focus has gone off, but we have always remained focussed on cricket."
But there is no escaping the rain, which returned as Dravid was minutes into his match-eve media conference.
The monsoon showers that began with the Indians' arrival in Colombo four days ago, has severely disrupted the teams' preparation.
"We can't help it. Probably we would have liked to have one more warm-up game but we had one very good match and had centre-wicket practice session. We are quite happy," Dravid said.
Mohammad Kaif did not attend the practice as he was suffering from cold and fever. Dravid would not reveal whether the Uttar Pradesh player would take the field on Wednesday.
"I have a basic idea about what combination to play but those outside the team can come to know about that at the toss," he said.
Dravid might not have to take a decision on Kaif after all, as the thundershowers, which seemed to have relented during the day, returned in full fury this evening.
The cynosure of all eyes will be Sachin Tendulkar, who returns to action after a four-month layoff. The master batsman, if the team's practice sessions are any indication, is likely to open the innings with Dravid while Virender Sehwag will bat in the middle order.
The Sri Lankans were lucky to have an intense net session under a sparkling sun in the morning.
Marvan Atapattu is not expected to take the field as he is still recovering from a lower back injury.
"We don't want to rush him. He is a key player for us and there is lot of cricket ahead," captain Mahela Jayawardene said.
But the scourge of India, Sanath Jayasuriya, is back. The explosive left-hander announced his retirement after being dropped from the Test team earlier this year before being recalled to join the squad in England in the summer.
Focus will also be on Irfan Pathan, who struggled in the West Indies, while India will also be looking to improve their one-day record in Sri Lanka.
They have a 20-21 win-loss record in the island, and, more importantly, have not won a tournament here since 1998.
The squads:
India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, S Sreesanth, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, Rudra Pratap Singh and Dinesh Mongia.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillekaratne Dilshan, Marvan Atapattu, Chamara Kapugedera, Farvez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara, Ruchira Perera and Prasanna Jayawardene.
