Sanath Jayasuriya and Harbhajan Singh at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday

Colombo: The fourth and penultimate cricket one-dayer between India and Sri Lanka was called off on Tuesday without a single ball being bowled due to intermittent rain at the R. Premadasa Stadium here.

The day-night match will be played on the reserved day on Wednesday. Umpires Billy Doctrove and Gamini Silva made the final inspection at around 6 pm and took the decision to draw stumps.

They had waited for over three-and-a-half hours for the rain to stop but it continued intermittently.

It had started raining around 30 minutes before the match was scheduled to begin, leaving the outfield damp.

India is leading the five-match rubber 2-1 and looking to seal the match while the home side would be trying to keep the series alive.

Meanwhile, as the Indian cricket team temporarily left the ground realising the futility of even having any match practice due to the relentless drizzle, the colourful Sri Lankan crowd remained undeterred and preferred to make most of it through dance and music.

Despite the fading chances of play, the spectators continued to throng the stadium in the early part of the day giving the security personnel a hectic time.

The umpires carrying umbrellas were cheered by the people in the evening as they took a good look at the outfield before deciding the fate of the match.

Earlier, the Indian and Sri Lankan players were found in a lighter moment chatting with each other and perhaps discussing the condition of the pitch after a long drizzle.

With the clamour of tickets high despite Tuesday being a working day, a large contingent of policemen were seen patrolling the roads leading to the cricket stadium.

The ground staff, who had a tedious day moving the covers in and out between the halting of the rain, also seemed to resign to the fact that it would take quite a while if at all the game was to begin. The Sri Lankan team chose to bide their time in the stadium perhaps the thought of a must win situation upper most in their minds.

(AGENCIES)