Much-anticipated Pakistan, India's Asia Cup clash likely to be interrupted by rain

There is a 70% chance of precipitation during Pakistan and India match in Kanddy

By Sports Desk
|
August 31, 2023
India skipper Rohit Sharma (left) and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam face each other in an Asia Cup 2022 match. — AFP

Rainy weather of Kandy is likely to play spoilsport on the much anticipated Pakistan and India clash in the Asia Cup 2023, which is slated for September 2 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, as the weather officials forecast showers throughout the week.

As per the BBC weather forecast, there is a 70% chance of precipitation during the match.

Meanwhile, World Weather Online also forecast a staggering 102.55mm of rain on Saturday whereas prediction is also for Friday which could cause a delay in the much-anticipated game.

Continuous showers are predicted from 7am local time to midnight, which means that the game can end with no result.

Winds are also expected during the match which can affect the playing conditions and overall atmosphere.

The temperatures during the game will hover between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius

The last time the two met in a 50-over match was in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup 2019 where the Blues emerged victorious.

However, their most recent meeting was in the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2022 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia where India won — thanks to one of the greatest innings of all time by Virat Kohli.

Even if the rain interrupts the play, the two teams can face each other once again in the Super Four stage if they make it past the group stages.

In the Asia Cup, Pakistan and India are in Group A with Nepal. While Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are in Group B with Afghanistan.

Squads

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi.

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna