Bhubaneswar/Cuttack Oct. 3: Cricket fans in the twin cities are a worried lot as the memories of inclement weather leading to abandoning of an ODI match between India and Australia in October 2013 are still fresh in their minds.

Forecast by the regional meteorological centre in Bhubaneswar said that rain or thundershower might occur at many places in the coastal part of the state on October 5, the day the first T20 international is scheduled to be held at Barabati Stadium.

Both the Indian and South African teams reached Bhubaneswar on a special flight this evening.

A Met official said the rainfall was likely to occur due to the formation of a cyclonic circulation over south Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh coast. "Heavy rainfall may occur at one or two places in the coastal Odisha on October 5," the weather report said.

A 40-minute spell of rain during the late afternoon today in Cuttack left the ground waterlogged. The ground staff members of the Odisha Cricket Association are facing an uphill task in making the stadium ready for the match. It rained 12.8mm in Cuttack today. Association curator Pankaj Patnaik, however, claimed that today's rain would not create any problems for hosting the match as efforts were on to drain out the water from the ground.

"More than 60 ground staff members have been deployed, and two advanced soakers will be used to dry the field keeping in view the conditions tonight. As a sand-based layer has been used at the stadium, the ground and the outfield will not be muddy," said Patnaik.

After the teams reached Bhubaneswar, the players taken to their hotel amid tight security. The rain in the late afternoon played spoilsport for enthusiasts, who were waiting to have a glimpse of the players. Bhubaneswar received a rainfall of 22.5mm.

Police commissioner R.P. Sharma said 25 platoons of police had been deployed in Bhubaneswar to escort the teams to Hotel Mayfair. "Besides, security personnel will also escort the teams to Cuttack for net practice at Barabati Stadium tomorrow," said Sharma. The police have arranged three-tier security arrangements at the hotel.

For the match, the police said, there was no specific "terror threat" and adequate security arrangements had been made for the security of the players and crowd management during the tie on Monday.

"Over 60 platoons of police will be deployed, apart from four quick-reaction teams. Four control rooms will also be set ," said Sharma. More than 2,400 police personnel, including 300 officers, would be deployed in and around the stadium during the match.