India vs England, Warm-up at Guwahati, WC Warm-up, Sep 30 2023 - Match Result

5:40pm That's all, folks. The game has officially been abandoned. The rain started ten minutes before the scheduled start of play, they turned into thunderstorms and didn't relent. Shouldn't be too big a deal for the teams but it's worth mentioning the fans who came in and waited persistently. Let's hope they, as well as the players, get a better deal going forward. For now, it's goodbye.

Even if the rain is playing spoilsport in cricket, India vs Pakistan is always a blockbuster - no matter the sport. And the Indian team's squash gold win in the Asian Games against Pakistan was a full-on filmi script - drama, plot twists and heroic fightback.

5:20pm Proper dark now. Covers still firmly on. Remember, 7:30pm is the cut-off time, but with 90 minutes needed to clear things up, an earlier intervention might be needed for play to happen.

Sunder: "Time for both teams to go for a photo shoot by the Brahmaputra" lolol

dexter: "In the hush of the cricket ground so wide,Where players and fans anxiously bide,A gentle drizzle starts to fall,Nature's whim, a raindrop's call. Though cricket's a game of bat and of ball,Sometimes it's the rain that decides it all,A reminder that nature's force is supreme,In the world of cricket, a rain-soaked dream. " Yes, but a summer sport being played around the world throughout the year is proof that nature is relennting.

Sens: "So, India won by toss?"

4:52pm Floodlights taking effect. Rain might have have stopped but groundstaff still not out. Wait continues. Five-odd minutes later, heavy rain's back. Apart from the rain, the only source of certainty has been ESPN.in folks, covering the Asian games. Here's Sunaadh Sagar with a story to engage you:

Four reigning world champions, the first-ever from India in their sport, start their Asian Games campaign on Sunday. One of those champions holds a world record too. Yet, they aren't household names - can India's compound archery team rise to national prominence?

Jigar: "All in all I do not expect any game to happen today as no one will want to risk injury to main world cup squad playing non important practice game. It should be call off immediately now.. " Hard to disagree.

4:02pm No movement still. There is confirmation that the cut-off time is 7:30pm local. Groundstaff will need 90 minutes to work on getting conditions fit for play but that's after rain stops.

Sachin : "How bad is the rain now?" Still very

Here's something worth checking out during the long wait:

Rocky: "Major update. India win in Squash at the Asian games."

3:45pm Rain seems to have stopped. A bit of drizzle might still be on but the storm has subsided. On a sidenote, big news coming in from the Asian Games:

Olympic medalist. World Championships medalist. Commonwealth Games medalist. But no Asian Games medal… Mirabai Chanu set out to fill the one hole in her CV on Saturday at Hangzhou but that dream left her a crumpled figure in the arms of her coach.

Nakib: "Rain has shifted to Dhaka now."

Hafeez: "@pratik, Just imagine any of that earlier match become a key factor in Entry ofr Exit of team to semis ...It will hurt more than LOSS could hurt..." It did last year when Australia's game against England was abandoned. As the cliche goes, gotta control the controllables.

3:17pm Ian Bishop says the rain is still torrential and will follow up with updates when they arrive. Waiting has been quite the theme for England recently.

Jorin: "I feel the Asia Cup was the perfect thing to happen for the Indian team in their preparation for the world cup. The "RAIN FACTOR", delays, re-schedule should not affect them, rather give them an advantage to prepare mentally and strategically for whats to come and how to maximise the situation if it arises." Yep, same could apply for other Asian teams as well.

Rachit-77 : "Good news for the fans...rain has fully stopped....."

3:03pm An update is expected at 3:15pm local

Pratik: "I think people are forgetting that at this moment, it is still monsoon in India. On the hand, the further we go into the tournament, the more heat there will be (until say November) and the less rain. I doubt anything past the earlier matches will be affected by rain."

2:55pm Still pelting down. Shyam Vasudevan from ESPN.in has something for you though.

Meanwhile at the Asian Games, India won a historic gold in equestrian. Now what makes equestrian a unique sport is that it is the only one that involves a non-human living being. Divyakriti Singh, who was part of the gold-winning team, speaks about the relationship between horse and rider and what part her horse Mr. Adrenaline Firfod played in India's gold medal.

Sentient05: "It has stopped raining " Think it did for a minute. Heard a cheer from the crowd, but it started to bucket down again.

2:35pm The thunderstorm has settled in and the intensity is still high. In the meantime, you can check out Karthik Krishaswamy's World Cup FAQs for some infotainment.

Josey Samuel : "The World Cup should have been played in Winter (December abd January) like the Football World Cup. Now this is going to be a Monsoon Cricket World Cup" There's a T20 World Cup in June next year. The schedule is absolutely packed. Osman Samiuddin wrote about the changing landscape last year that covers this issue and many others surrounding it.

Vikas Arya: "Jarrod Kimber reckons India does not have a problem with no.4 in ODIs? do you agree Eknath?" I saw the video and did feel the points added up. Pant's absence and Shreyas potentially being rusty could be an issue. But shouldn't be as big an issue.

Thanks, Shashwat. Proper thunderstorms at 2:20pm, looks dire.

Jack: "Cricinfo - Pls run a poll asking how many games in this WC will be affected by rain.. Would like to see what fans think" Nice, doing.

Sunder: "Guwahati after the rain is a steaming pot. You don't want to be there. If England is bowling till 6 pm, it is enough to get them exhausted for next one week"

Pankaj: "In the meantime, someone should quickly get the groundsmen from Colombo to ensure the pitch / ground gets back to the playable condition quickly " The entire ground has actually been covered.

Paritosh Mandov: "We welcome England in Asia Cup :P"

Time to welcome Ekanth into the hot seat to take you through the action rain-watch.

2:05pm It is bucketing down in Guwahati and the covers are firmly in place. There might have been a bolt of lightning in the sky too.

There's a lot of action in the Asian Games today: there's an India vs Pakistan squash final going on, Mirabai Chanu is in the hunt for a weightlifting bronze and there's another India vs Pakistan hockey clash later in the day. Follow the Asian Games live here.

1:56pm Uh-oh! Looks like there is a bit of rain around and the covers have been brought on. Seems like the rain has increased in intensity too.

Mark Wood: (On the weather) It is hot. We have only been here two days but feeling the full effects of it already. A bit rainier than I expected. We have to adapt to conditions as we go. (On how fatigued they are after the 38-hour journey to get to Guwahati) A little bit stiff, it was a long journey. But this is the start of the World Cup, so we are all excited. These games are just about building up to the opening game (against New Zealand), and we need to be ready for that one. (On what boxes he wants to tick) I just want to bowl fast, take as many wickets as possible. Even if I take just one wicket, if that is a match-winning contribution - that is what I want to be in the team for. (On his batting) My eyes were shut for most of those shots (in the nets). If I am batting, we are in trouble, hopefully I don't have to bat much (laughs).

R Ashwin: (On if someone had told him three months ago that he would be playing the World Cup) I would have said that you were joking. Life is full of surprises. Honestly did not think I would be here. Circumstances have made sure I am here today, the team management have shown trust. (On doing interviews during the World Cup) Told the media guy he should not be putting me in front of the camera (smiles). He said Dinesh Karthik is interviewing me today, so here I am. (On any new variations) All you can do is turn the ball both ways, and I think I can do it. Dealing with pressure is paramount in these tournaments and it will dictate how the tournament goes. Being in a good space, enjoying this tournament will keep me in good stead. This could be my last World Cup for India, so enjoying the tournament is of utmost importance.

England squad: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Reece Topley

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

1:31pm It's time for the toss. Rohit Sharma and Jos Buttler are out in the middle. Rohit gives it a flick. Buttler calls heads, but it comes down as tails. India will bat first. Says, with a smile on his face, that there is no particular reason, apart from the heat, wanting his bowlers to stay fresh and not bowl in the afternoon. Says that it (the warm-up game) is a formality that they are trying to do, having played 7-8 games with intensity. He adds that they want to go through the moments and see what they can achieve, while looking after their players.

Buttler says it is great to be in India. Today is pretty much about getting some game-time, while maintaining that they might be a little lower on intensity than usual, because of all the travel. All about getting prepared for the opening game against New Zealand, and reckons it is about getting used to the conditions and the heat.

Murthy: "England is still bad on turning tracks and may struggle to make it to even top 4 forget finals." -- Might have to differ with that assessment. Almost all of their batters have experience of playing on these shores (some are IPL mainstays too when fit). Plus, with this World Cup being held in October-November, which is early season in cricketing terms, the pitches might not spin a lot.

Afeef: "There's got to be atleast one double century scored in the World Cup and I feel it will be someone from either of these 2 teams." -- Well, India have three in their squad who have scaled that peak before, and Ben Stokes, before flying out to India, registered England's highest score in the format, although he fell short of his double ton by 18 runs.

1:05pm For those wondering about the weather in Guwahati, the sun is shining currently and the players are warming up. Fingers crossed, hoping for an interruption-free game today.

Akin to recent World Cups, India enter this edition as favourites. Here is Sidharth Monga outlining why that is the case.

Saleque Sufi : "There are chances that England and India may go all the way to meet in the final. One is reigning champion and the other is ODI top ranked team as well as the host. England may find it a bit challenging adjusting with heat and humidity. It will be mouth watering contest of the two evenly matched team. Though warm up match but neither side will give an inch to the other for strategic reasons" -- Might be a little premature thinking about the final, considering there are several teams in contention. But completely agree with neither team wanting to hand the other a psychological edge before the tournament begins.

12:45pm India and England have largely settled upon their combinations, although both have made a change each to their original World Cup squad (more on that in Shashank Kishore's preview).

For England, time out in the middle, getting used to the conditions, the heat, the humidity and overcoming the fatigue of a 38-hour journey could be at the top of their agenda. Some runs for Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali would not hurt either.

With Jason Roy omitted, there will be intrigue around how Dawid Malan fares, having not had great returns in this part of the world in the past but having excelled in whatever little ODI cricket he has played. Harry Brook, too, would hope to put behind his IPL troubles and morph into the X-Factor player England are banking him to be.

As for India, their batting looks in fine fettle. The openers are scoring runs and are doing so at a fair clip. Virat Kohli has looked close to his best, while the middle-order is stacked with options. The only worry perhaps could be Ravindra Jadeja's form (having not registered an ODI fifty at home since 2013), although this is a good opportunity for him to get back among the runs.

12:30pm How's the World Cup fever, everyone? We are less than a week away from the biggest ODI cricketing extravaganza, and while that is a time for fans to gush at what lies ahead, it is also a period for teams to fine-tune their combinations and prepare for the challenges that await.

India and England appear better-placed than most. The latter arrive as defending champions, the former by virtue of being hosts and the top-ranked ODI outfit. This is, thus, a proper prelude before the big time, wherein two outfits, both hoping for the ultimate prize, will battle it out, perhaps slightly away from the spotlight but with plenty still riding on it.

Hello and welcome to ESPNcricinfo's live ball-by-ball coverage of the World Cup warm-up fixture between India and England. I am Shashwat Kumar and alongside Ekanth, will be your eyes and ears for all the action that unfolds today in Guwahati. Grab your choice of food and drink, and hop on, this promises to be an exciting dress rehearsal before the thing begins proper.