Chennai, Dec 4: Heavy overnight showers left the outfield wet and unfit for the first cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka to begin even on the third day at the M A Chidambaram Stadium here today. The two umpires, Daryl Harper of Australia and Mark Benson from England, inspected the ground this morning and immediately decided to call off the play for the third consecutive day as the field remained waterlogged and covers enveloped most of its parts.

'Katradhu Tamizh' Ram's next Diwali in Suburbs Rajini Still In A Dilemma! அஜீத் பேட்டி? ராம் இயக்கத்தில் சேரன்? கமல் பாராட்டிய டைட்டில்்

There were no rains in the morning but the overcast weather and remote chances of sunlight later in the day led to the loss of three full days and with more rains predicted in the next 24 hours this Test is being considered as good as dead. Not a single ball has been bowled in the Test match due to heavy downpour, being caused by cyclone 'Baaz' in the Bay of Bengal, leaving the Chennai fans disappointed.

Their hopes of watching Sachin Tendulkar score his record 35th Test century in the southern metropolis have suffered and a possible return of captain Sourav Ganguly to the national side was also prolonged. Ganguly was ignored for the one-day series against Sri Lanka and South Africa. This is the second time in two weeks that rains have disrupted an international fixture following the November 22 washout of the one-dayer between India and South Africa. This is the fourth successive international contest on this ground to be affected by rain since 2003, when the India-New Zealand one-dayer failed to produce a result. (Our Correspondent) 

Published: Sunday, December 04, 2005