Dasitha: "well , as a part time worker who works from 4pm to 8pm I'm not complaining much about this rain. I have watched the match until 4pm and seems like won't miss anything "

Uwaisul Karnain: "As a SL fan, I'm not quite sure which way I want this match to go! Perhaps I better hope for the rain to continue for another 70-80 minutes as I don't think D/L method can do justice to the difficulties of handling the wet ball"

Akindu: "@Beastmaster that would just make the boards make groundstaff wait longer to take off the covers due to fear of having to pull them back on. Causing EVEN MORE unnecessary delays"

Madhura: "Wait..don't go anywhere rain has completely gone now even in the dark skies I could see the blue and white clouds moving so we might have a game " --- It's the hope that kills you.

Beastmaster: "There should be a rule. If the covers come off and on - 3 times. Then the game is called off" --- Niche rule alert!

"What is the cut off time for a 20-over match? " Don't have the official time, Shashi, but if I had to guess I'd say around 9-9:30pm.

Thanks Abhimanyu, so the vigil continues. For those interested, at least there's some PL football on this evening.

7.20pm Alright, it's Madushka's turn to keep you all company again.

Cricket Liver P: "Feel for Jewel Andrew.Looking at his stats this 17 year old is very talented." Oh yes, I was very excited to see him bat in international cricket! Guess we'll just have to wait.

Akindu: "Isnt this why we have a stadium in Hambanthota? Trchnology is developed to the point where we can forecast weather months ahead this shouldnt be happening in modern cricket." Well, cricket is a funny game, not least due to those who are in charge of it!

7.07pm Okay, the merry-go-round continues. Covers are back on.

Afsrr: "Rain gods are playing with our emotions today. Its back"

7pm Another update: all covers are off! Hopefully we have some news soon about a restart.

6.45pm Our joy lasted all off *checks watch* five minutes. The rain is back, and the covers are as well.

davo: "Let me make this very short for you guys....SL will come back on to finish 20 overs and WI will have a target of 175 off 20. Series over 2-1" I admire your optimism.

RiwajAdhikari: "A bit of curiosity, for matches that are washed off, individual stats are considered, right?" Yes they are.

6.40pm We have an update. The covers are coming off again. We may have some cricket after all. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

supun: "just write a code, every 10 minutes.... "covers are coming back on" , "covers are coming off again" and do something else." Oh no, looks like I've been found out!

6.22pm And just like that, covers are coming back on. The pitch and areas around the centre square have been covered for now.

Rajiv: "We wanted to see a match between SL and WI. But now it has become a battle between weather and ground staff. Hope the latter will win. "

6.15pm Some good news. Covers are coming off again.

Eric: "What is the cut off time before we start losing overs? Have we reached that point yet?" It's been around 2.5 hours since we went off with rain, so we are surely in the "losing overs" territory.

6pm Thanks Madushka. Well, sadly, the news is still the same. So yeah, we keep waiting.

Dilruwan: "very unlikely to have any cricket today. I live few Kms away and it's raining heavily. my gut and experience tells me no cricket. bleak end to a good Series for SL"

nick chan: "Who organises cricket in Pallekelle this time of the year" SLC, sadly...

Nilanka: "I think Sri Lanka win the series 2 to 0. I'm just 500m away from ground and there is no sign of stopping rain. "

5.55pm So sadly the covers have come back on as the rains briefly returned. There's also word of a ground staff meeting on the ground. Not looking good folks. On that note, here's Abhimanyu back and refreshed.

5.35pm Some covers still about on the periphery of the ground, but we're set for a inspection at 5.45pm.

Ran: "If West Indies had held those early chances, then it would be different match now. Catches win matches as they say."

Ankit Verma: "What happens if this innings wash out? Will West Indies receive full 50 overs target?" --- Since Sri Lanka still haven't faced a minimum of 20 overs, their innings can't be washed out. If we are to have play, SL will have to come out and bat at least up until the end of the 20th over.

"I live 2km from ground and it looks pretty bad " --- We're only doing positive updates now, Aavish, get with the program.

Shashi: "It was the same yesterday, but there was no rain after around 6.30pm for the rest of the night. Hopefully the same will happen today."

5.10pm Some good news from Pallekele though, the rain has stopped and the covers are coming off!

Amila with a plea out into the void: "any updates from those who are 2, 5, 10 or 100km away"

Thanks Abhimanyu. It's bucketing down over here in Colombo as well, so not sure banking on my fortunes are the way to go. But maybe this is just the thing we need for everyone to settle down, and just take in some of the incredible match results from elsewhere in the world.

5.05pm Well, it's still gloomy in Pallekele. Time for me to grab a cuppa. Maybe Madushka will also bring some good fortune with him!

4.42pm The rain delay has now lasted an hour. Still no signs of play any time soon.

Davo: "WI should catch an early flight back to the Caribbean....bright sunshine awaits them as we take on our old nemesis Eng!"

4.30pm Some bad news possibly. Madhura: "And again here it comes down again so we have interrupted a bit more than we would like "

4.13pm Still no change in Pallekele. As we wait, here's something for you to answer as you bide your time.

sew: "yea yea madhura is right its suddenly stopped now but still dark"

3.57pm No updates from Pallekele, but there is a big one from Pune. India have lost a Test series at home for the first time since 2012! The last wicket was taken by Ajaz Patel, who in his last tour of India, had taken a 10-wicket haul. So while we wait, why don't you all test your cricket knowledge with this quiz on 10-wicket hauls, set by Sreshth Shah?

"I'm just 8km away from the ground so it was pouring down for 10 minutes and suddenly stopped raining and looked brighter now." That sounds like good news if true, Madhura.

3.50pm Elsewhere, New Zealand are one wicket away from sealing a series win against India. Why should those tuning in this game care about that? Well, for Sri Lankan fans, it means a boost in you team's chances to make the WTC final!

3.42pm It's started to rain at the ground. The groundstaff get ready. And oh, they are going off. The groundstaff have brought the covers on for the pitch. And slowly more covers come on as they look to cover up the whole ground. There are umbrellas out in the stands too. And it's official - all three games have now been affected by rain. Sigh.

davo: "it's about time SL felt how WI have felt this entire tour...DISadvantaged."

sew: "i am just 10km away from the ground and its getting heavier here not anyone would like to hear this"

So, just to recap, Pathum Nissanka on his return to the team built a solid opening stand with Avishka Fernando, although both batters were dropped early on. It was spin that was working better for West Indies and Roston Chase brought them the breakthrough. One ball later, here we are, waiting for the rain to go away.

Kusal Mendis out at No. 3

Sean Daniel: "What would the outcome have looked like had the Windies held onto to both catches. Would have drawn to huge criticism on both players and SLC officials including the coach I assume." In terms of selection, yes maybe. But I suspect the middle order would stand tall, as they have this series

praveen: "Avishka was top run getter in last odi series against India. Drop him after two failure is not good idea. So, SL decision is right. Yes, Madhuska was too good in last two games but i think this is last chance for Kusual Mendis. "

Getting quite dark out there! Chase goes around the wicket to Nissanka

Thanks Madushka. And as I come in, so does Roston Chase into the attack

And with that here's Abhimanyu once more.