A disappointment for many fans of Pakistan and India as the high-voltage contest will be continued on the reserve day, on Monday. India will resume their innings from 147/2 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo as persistent rain has put a halt on proceedings.
“On to the reserve day,” the International Cricket Council said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday. “India will resume their innings tomorrow as persistent rain has put a halt on proceedings.”
It was expected the host city would receive heavy rain, but Asian Cricket Council President Jay Shah despite the recommendations of the Pakistan Cricket Board and fans did not change the venue.
When India resumed their innings on Monday, Pakistan’s all-rounder Shadab Khan would continue his bowling to Indian batter Virat Kohli who is not out for eight runs. KL Rahul, batting on 17, would be on the non-striker end.
Unlike the past matches, India was off to a good start on Sunday as the leading pair Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill made a 121-run partnership while facing one of the best bowling attacks in world cricket.
Both of them made the fifties and tried to put in a big total against Pakistan to secure a position in the finals.
Gill fell to Shaheen Afridi in the 18th over soon after his opening partner Rohit Sharma was caught in the previous over. He was deceived by a change-up delivery of Afridi and was caught by Shadab Khan after scoring 58 runs off 52 balls.
India lost their first wicket in the 17th over as skipper Rohit Sharma was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 56 runs off 49 balls.
The opening pair provided a solid start to India by amassing 121 runs at a run rate of 7.76 after being put to bat first.
Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup in Colombo on Sunday.
The match began at 2:30pm.
Although rain is expected to be a factor once again, a reserve day has been set aside for the match.
KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah have joined the team and could be available for selection for India.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said Saturday his side will have an edge over India in their Asia Cup Super Four clash, with a bowling line-up ready to win matches and tournaments.The arch-rivals meet again in Colombo on Sunday after their group match was abandoned due to rain, which has played havoc with the 50-over tournament that is a precursor to the ODI World Cup in India.
An India-Pakistan clash remains one of the most hotly anticipated matches in world cricket because the two South Asian neighbours only play each other in multi-nation tournaments due to political tensions.
Pakistan won their opening match of the Super Four stage and a second win will further enhance their chances of making the final on September 17.
But rain in the Sri Lankan capital is expected to play spoilsport again in the match, for which a reserve day has been kept aside.
“You can say we have the edge, as we have played back-to-back cricket here (in Sri Lanka) and in Pakistan,” Azam told reporters.
“It has been two-and-a-half months in Sri Lanka including the Test series, Lanka Premier League, Afghanistan series and now the Asia Cup. So you can say it will be an advantage (for us).”
Pakistan’s pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf have stood out, with 23 wickets between them so far.
Shaheen, a left-arm quick who leads the bowling, rattled India with his opening burst in the group match, taking the key wickets of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.Azam said the team believes their bowlers can win them titles.
“Proud to have the fast bowlers that we have. One of the best (in the world),” said Azam.“Fast bowlers win you tournaments and matches and I have total belief (in) them. The line-up that we have including Naseem and Faheem (Ashraf) is the best lot that we have.”India opener Shubman Gill said not playing Pakistan regularly made it tough to gauge the opposition.
“We all know that their bowling attack is quite good and when you don’t play against such attacks often it makes a bit of difference in main tournaments,” said Gill.
Gill, who was bowled by Rauf for 10 in Pallekele last week, and the Indian batsmen have been facing a left-arm specialist in their training to counter Shaheen. He said the variation “helps”.
India managed to post 266 all out after they slipped to 66-4 against Pakistan last week and Gill said the team has taken confidence from the fightback.
“Openers need to make a good start and need to dominate them from the beginning,” he said.
“In the league match, our top order did not click much, still we made a competitive total…so, it was a good sign.”
