Torrential rain washed out the warm-up match between hosts India and reigning 50-overs World Cup champions England in Guwahati on Saturday, while the clash between Australia and the Netherlands in Thiruvananthapuram was delayed due to a wet outfield.
The rain began shortly after India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat, and it continued to prevent play at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
With the cutoff time for play set at 7.30 PM (1400 GMT) local time, match officials waited until shortly before 6 PM before pulling the plug on the contest.
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England may well not mind, however, after spending nearly 38 hours traveling from London to Guwahati with lengthy layovers in between.
They will get a chance to fine-tune their skills with a game against Bangladesh on Monday ahead of their tournament opener on Thursday, where Jos Buttler's side will meet 2019 runners-up New Zealand in Ahmedabad.
India play the Netherlands on Tuesday before heading into the showpiece event, where they are targeting their third title. Meanwhile, five-time champions Australia were also left frustrated as rain delayed the start of their contest with the Netherlands.
It was the second warm-up encounter in the south Indian city to be affected after South Africa's match against Afghanistan was abandoned a day earlier.
Talking about the tournament, England will be kicking off their campaign against New Zealand at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 5. On the other hand, the hosts India will be up against Australia in their first match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8.
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Both teams will be up against each other at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday, October 29 in the league stage fixture.
ODI World Cup 2023 squads of both teams:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.2 days ago