Asia Cup: Play called off in Colombo, India-Pakistan match to resume on Monday as reserve day

The marquee India vs. Pakistan clash in the Super Four stage of Asia Cup 2023 has been called off on Sunday due to rain. The reserve day, added especially for this game, will now come into action as the contest will resume on Monday, with India beginning the day at 24.1 overs.

For the second time in a row, India-Pakistan game got interrupted by rain, as earlier during the Group Stage match on September 2 in Kandy, the game suffered a similar fate, disappointing millions of cricket fans all across. However, considering the peak monsoon season in Sri Lanka, especially in the capital city, the ACC, in coordination with the PCB – the original host of the tournament and the BCCI, decided to add a reserve day for the India-Pakistan Super Four tie in Colombo.

As everyone thought, the rain again played a spoilsport as the game got called off on Sunday. With no match possible on the given day, the reserve day was activated, and now both teams will resume proceedings on the next day at the same venue. India, who batted first after losing the toss, was on top of Pakistan, scoring 147 for two in 24.1 overs.

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Captain Rohit Sharma and his fellow opener Shubman Gill hit respective fifties, while Virat Kohli (8*) and returning KL Rahul (17*) were at the crease when the game got paused due to rain.

At that time, India was dominating and looked like breaching the 300-run mark in this high-voltage clash.

Rain washes away thrill in Colombo

Eight days after arch-rivals faced off for the first time since that epic clash in Melbourne last year, the tensions were high as the Indian batters took on the best bowling line-up in the tournament for the second straight time. After what they had gone through during the first clash, getting reduced to 66 for four at one stage, the Indian openers upped the ante and unlocked the counter-attack strategy to gain an early advantage.

Taking down Shaheen Afridi was their best trick, but a tight spell from Naseem Shah kept them on bay inside the Powerplay. Rohit changed gears when Shadab was introduced to the attack, taking him to the cleaners.

Although both stitched a 121-run stand for the first wicket, Rohit and Gill returned to the pavilion in consecutive overs.

Virat Kohli looked composed, while KL Rahul didn’t disappoint on his first India outing in several months.

Meanwhile, with both teams now aware of the situation at hand, changing strategies before cricket resumes on Monday can benefit both.

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