The first Test between India and Sri Lanka [Images] will get underway at 1500 IST, the umpires informed after the start of the fourth day was delayed due to wet ground conditions in Chennai on Monday.

Heavy rains in Chennai that prevented play from commencing on the first three days has relented and bright sunshine greeted the teams at the M A Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Monday morning.

Umpires Daryl Harper of Australia and Mark Benson from England [Images] inspected the ground at 1330 hours IST and 38 overs will be bowled in the day. The match will start 30 minutes early on Tuesday.

The rain, caused by cyclone Baaz in the Bay of Bengal, has effectively ruined chances of the Test seeing even one innings being played.

This is the second time in two weeks that rain has disrupted an international fixture following the November 22 washout of the one-dayer between India and South Africa.