Sri Lanka vs India Weather Forecast: Colombo weather during 1st ODI

The India tour of Sri Lanka is set to get underway on Sunday (July 18) with the first ODI taking place at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. It will indeed be an interesting series to watch out for as both teams would take the field without many of their key players. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named a second-stringed squad for this tour and majority of their big guns are currently in England for a five-match Test series.

On the other hand, injuries and other issues have forced Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to name a depleted team. Going by the strength of both teams, the Men in Blue are firm favourites to clinch both ODI and T20I series. Veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan will marshal the Indian troop in Virat Kohli’s absence while fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar is his deputy. The side also has some more prominent players in Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Besides these names, most of the players are young and experienced. In fact, six of the 20 players in the squad are yet to make their international debut. Nevertheless, the home team can’t afford to breathe easy and these prodigies have shown their prowess in arguably the world’s most celebrated T20 competition, the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Moreover, the ICC T20 World Cup is months away and all these youngsters would be determined to shine in Sri Lanka and stake their claim in the squad for the global event. Speaking of the Lankan Lions, the home team is likely to have a tough time in the entire series. With the likes of Angelo Mathews, Kusal Perera, Kusal Medis, and Dinesh Chandimal not in the mix, the side hardly has any veteran player.

In fact, all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva is the most experienced player in this squad, having played 50 ODIs. Moreover, the musical chair for captaincy continues as Dasun Shanaka has become Sri Lanka’s 10th ODI captain since 2017. Hence, this Sri Lankan side needs to put up an exceptional effort to give India a fight in the first ODI. The likes of Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Dushmantha Chameera have the onus to perform from the front.

Here’s a look at how the weather will behave during India vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI

The rain had spoiled the game for many days in India vs New Zealand WTC final last month. Hence, the intervention of the weather Gods is the last thing Indian fans would want in this series. Unfortunately, their wishes might be dented as rain is likely to play a spoilsport in the first ODI as well. As per accuweather.com, the weather in Colombo will be cloudy with the humidity being on the higher side.

Some showers are also expected to play a part in the afternoon. Thunderstorms are also expected to come into the picture as the day progresses. Hence, a significant part of the game might get spoiled. Meanwhile, the toss-winning captain must elect to field first as the dew factor would challenge bowlers in the latter part of the day.