The rain, a prelude to a cyclonic storm hovering in the region, pounded the Chepauk ground since Thursday night and drenched the uncovered parts of the outfield.

Umpires Daryl Harper and Mark Benson called off play during the scheduled lunch break at 11.30am when the weather showed no signs of clearing.

Both camps will not announce their playing XIs till just before the toss, but Indian team sources told AFP that former captain Ganguly was certain to play.

Ganguly, sacked as captain and also from the one-day squad, will bat at number six, leaving both middle-order batsmen Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif out of the Test, the sources said.

Cyclone Baaz, which is building in the Bay of Bengal, was expected to hit the southeastern coast of India within the next 24 hours amid fears of more rain in this cricket-mad city.

"You can't predict when the match will start till the rain stops," umpire Harper said. "It does not look too good at the moment, does it?"

Chennai has already seen it's last three international matches fall by the wayside due to bad weather.

India's one-day internationals against New Zealand in 2003 and South Africa last fortnight were abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The second Test against Australia in October last year was drawn after the final day's play was washed out with India on the brink of victory.

Local cricket officials, fearing another rain-affected match, chose to sell only day tickets for the Sri Lanka Test.

The three-Test series is Sri Lanka's first on Indian soil in eight years.