Chennai, Dec 1: Weather threatens a washout even as India looks to extend their domination over Sri Lanka when the second part of the cricket series begins with the first Test here from tomorrow.

Much of the attention on cricket -- the island neighbours playing their first Test series in the subcontinent since 1997 and Sourav Ganguly returning to Greg Chappell's fold -- has been taken away by the forecast of a thunderstorm for the next four days.

The M A Chidambaram Stadium, lying metres away from the Marina seashore, escaped the fury of the tsunami last December but Mother Nature has not been similarly kind in recent weeks.

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

The India-South Africa one-dayer was a total washout a week ago, and a petition charging the TNCA with "deliberate intention to deceive the gullible public" by holding matches in the monsoon period comes up for hearing today. The Indians, however, seemed to go about their practice sessions with little thought on the weather. 

V V S Laxman would like us to believe that the whole team was looking forward to Sachin Tendulkar's 35th Test hundred but, without doubting the suave Hyderabadi's words, one would know that it is Ganguly's place in the batting order that has kept the team management thinking. That the match is not happening at Kolkata would be of little help for Chappell and captain Rahul Dravid as they seek to resolve the Ganguly riddle. The visitors, on the other hand, would be keen to make a fitting reposte for the 6-1 drubbing in the one-day series that preceded the South African rubber. 

The out of form Sanath Jayasuriya has been axed. That is a big blow for the Lanka Lions who are yet to win a Test in India. In Jayasuriya's absence, captain Marvan Atapattu would be expected to do the bulk of scoring. His deputy Mahela Jayawardene as also Kumar Sangakkara and Tillekaratne Dilshan would be looking to continue with their good form with the bat in the limited overs series. Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas would be keen to to do better in the Tests than they did in the shorter version of the game. 

"It is a big challenge for me and I have to prove myself against a formidable side like India," said Muralitharan, who has 563 wickets from 95 Tests at an average of 22.15. But with only a handful of them having played in India before, and none of them in Chennai, the task will be much more difficult for Sri Lanka. Their practice game at Bangalore again was affected by rain, and in the brief time they were on the pitch, the visitors were outplayed by a young Board President's XI. Teams (Our Correspondent)

Published: Thursday, December 01, 2005