The highly anticipated Pakistan-India match in the Asia Cup 2023 was brought to a halt due to heavy showers at the Pallakele Stadium in Sri Lanka. The covers were brought in to protect the pitch after the fifth over.
At the end of the fourth over, India had scored 15 runs without any loss against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 match at the Pallakelle Stadium in Sri Lanka.
The covers started to come off and the weather improved after the rain stopped. Shubman Gill, who had faced eight balls, was yet to open his account, while Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper, had scored 11 runs off 18 balls with two fours.
In the fourth over, Pakistan’s Naseem Shah bowled a tight over, displaying excellent swing and pace. Gill managed to defend against his strong spell. With the looming threat of rain, Naseem ended the over with a single wide, leaving India at 15 runs in four overs without any loss.
In the third over, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma comfortably clipped the ball off the toes for four runs. The ball fell just inside the ropes, giving India four runs off the bat. With a wide included in the third over, India reached 14 runs without any loss.
In the second over, Naseem Shah showcased some early movement with the ball. The varying bounce posed a challenge for the Indian batsmen in the early stages of the match. Naseem finished the over giving away only two runs and a bye.
In the first over, Rohit Sharma flicked the ball off his pads, sending it in the air but wide of square leg. This boundary was a much-needed boost for the Indian captain. Shaheen Afridi, the Pakistani bowler, gave away six runs in the first over, including a single and a wide.
During the toss, with the sun peeking through the clouds, Rohit Sharma chose to bat first. He expressed his readiness to “embrace the challenge” as India played their opening match in the tournament. Babar Azam, the Pakistani captain, stated that his team would try to take early wickets and expressed his confidence in their unchanged team combination.
According to weather forecasting websites, there may be intermittent rain interruptions during the match. AccuWeather predicts a 58% chance of showers at 3pm local time, with clear weather expected for the next few hours. However, rain is likely to resume from 7pm onwards and continue until 11pm. BBC Weather also forecasts thundershowers throughout the day, with the highest chance of rain at 3:30pm.
Although it started drizzling in Kandy, Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram stated that the weather was expected to clear later in the afternoon. He reminded fans to support their teams and emphasized that “at the end of the day it is just a match”.
The teams for the match are as follows:
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah