With the continuous drizzling going on, the toss had been delayed. The HPCA Stadium is equipped with quality drainage facility but the heavy downpour caused troubles for the groundsmen who were working away with mops to clear the water.
Earlier, India skipper Virat Kohli also walked out under a umbrella after addressing the press conference. Indian players had to practice indoors due to poor weather conditions on Saturday in the city.
In terms of preparing for the long season on home soil, India captain Virat Kohli stressed on the fact that their training and hard work remains the same whether they are playing in the country or when touring overseas. The main goal of the team is always to go out there and win every game.
"For us as a home team we need to be absolutely sure of our game plan. The way we prepare for overseas series where we have to be very very focussed, it's the same (for home series). International cricket is about your mindset nowadays.
"Every condition can be home condition if you feel comfortable. I think it's getting into that frame of mind for us which is very important. That's why we have been one of the most consistent teams in the last 2-3 years.
"And that's been the reason because we want to win every game wherever we play whether it's home, away, any format... we just want to go out there, play our best cricket and win," Kohli said at the pre-match press conference in Dharamsala on Saturday.
India vs South Africa squads:
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (c), Rassie van der Dussen (vc), Temba Bauvma, Junior Dala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukyao, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, George Linde.