Rain likely to disrupt Pindi test match

Islamabad : If the Pakistan Meteorological Department is to be believed, then rain may play a spoilsport in the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

According to the PMD, rain will fall in Islamabad and Rawalpindi from Thursday to Saturday suggesting that the second, third and fourth days of the test match are likely to be affected by precipitation.

“Due to the rainy spell, the Lanka-Pakistan test match can be disrupted for most of the day on Thursday and partially on Friday and Saturday,” it said in a statement.

It is interesting to note here that the first one-day international between the two teams in September in Karachi was called off due to heavy rainfall.

The PMD said a westerly wave located over Iran and its adjoining areas was expected to grip most parts of the country on Thursday.

Under the influence of that weather system, scattered rain-thunderstorm with snowfall over hills is expected in upper districts of Balochistan on Thursday, while light to moderate rain-thunderstorm will occur in Sindh’s Sukkur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad and Karachi cities on Thursday.

Widespread rain-thunderstorm with snowfall over hills is expected in most districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Islamabad on Thursday and Friday and isolated heavy falls in the districts of Dir, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Narowal and Islamabad on Thursday.

Also, widespread rain with snowfall over the hills is also expected in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and at scattered places in Gilgit-Baltistan on Thursday and Friday. The PMD said fog was likely to subside in plain areas of the country due to the rainfall.