Wednesday turned out to be one such dry-weather day here. The sun was shining beautifully over the stunning capital of Wales throughout the afternoon, just about enough for the Indian and Sri Lankan cricketers to bring out their multi-coloured glares and change from jumpers to tees as they made way to the Sophia Gardens for their respective training sessions.
A lengthy stint at the nets was considered necessary given they play the Champions Trophy semifinal on Thursday. But that's where the trouble is.
Thursday, according to the MET here, is going to be one of those 240 days. It's going to rain, says the forecast, and adds that it's also going to be windy while it pours.
Sri Lanka have been handed eight defeats by India in the last 11 ODIs played between the two, which includes the World Cup final in 2011 at the Wankhede.
If not MS Dhoni, Angelo Mathews will certainly pray for the rain to stay away. He may find this opportunity, a knockout in a major ICC tournament, apt for revenge.
It will come to that only if the weather permits. If it doesn't, ICC rules say: in case of a complete washout, the team that has topped the table goes into the final. That would be like rubbing salt on wounds that Sri Lankans may want to admit haven't healed as yet.
But the MET does predict wrongly at times here. "Let's hope they're wrong again this time," says a ground official.
If the match is played without the hindrance of rain, India have Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath to tackle. MS Dhoni says most players have batted Malinga enough in IPL to understand him better now but the 35-year-old left-arm spinner Herath - now armed with his mystery ball, the quicker one tailor-made to deal with right-handers in particular - can cause trouble. Pity no IPL franchise bothered buying him.
That aside, India are clear favourites. They have adapted better to new ICC one-day rules and have fared better than any other team in this tournament so far.
Particularly in dealing with the Powerplays, India's ability to save wickets at the top of the order has given their batsmen the advantage to surge after the 35th over, something Dhoni has emphasized time and again here.
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