Gaze on the World Cup, eye on the skies

A touristy town is eagerly awaiting the onrushing of cricket-tourists, but rain could yet play spoilsport

- VENKATA KRISHNA B

THE ROLLED-UP COVERS placed along the boundary lines strike your eyes as fast as the Hunnasgiriya ranges that decorate the backdrop on one side of the Pallekele Stadium. The ground staff are busy fixing giant screens and the scoreboard, besides keeping the covers in place. But more than the ground, they had their eyes firmed on the dark clouds kissing the top of splendid ranges, as late monsoon threatens to wreak havoc on the Asia Cup. Fans, too, would have a finger on the weather apps, ahead of the feisty Sri Lanka-Bangalore encounter on Thursday and even more for the Saturday fixture between India and Pakistan.

On a gloomy day where the sun hardly peeped out of the dark clouds, the outfield said a story in itself. On one of the square boundaries, thanks to the heavy rainfall on the previous evening, the outfield remained so wet that there were patches where it could leave a footmark even if one walked over it.

The weather was similar on Tuesday too. On the drive from Colombo to Pallekele, it was impossible to miss the dark clouds moving fast towards Kandy, which is just an half-an-hour drive from the stadium. Some of the roadside vendors selling tender coconut began to replace them with umbrellas, a definite sign of things to come. Two-wheeler riders hurriedly put raincoats on and it was hard to spot a tuk-tuk that hadn't rolled down its covers.

Unusual scheduling

Though the monsoon has landed after a delay, August-September is an unusual time to play cricket in Sri Lanka. It is a period the debt-ridden SLC usually avoids, because of the strong possibility of evening rains. Among its prominent venues, Hambantotta, which is located in the south-east corner of the island, is yet to host an ODI in September.