COLOMBO: Pakistan’s Asia Cup journey might be cut short as the match against Sri Lanka to be played in Colombo tomorrow (Thursday) is likely to be hampered by rain, according to multiple weather predictions.
The Super Four contest will see the two sides, who are hosting the Asia Cup on a hybrid model, face each other in a do-or-die game — characterized by some as a “virtual semi-final” — at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. The match is scheduled to start at 2:30 pm (PST).
Weather forecaster AccuWeather predicted unfavorable conditions in the venue city. According to the forecaster, there was a 93% probability of rain with a 56% chance of thunderstorms affecting the match during the day with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm.
For the night, it predicted a 98% cloud cover with rain in spots with a 48% chance of precipitation and a 28% chance of thunderstorms.
During the match timings, the predictor predicted two separate rain spells, with the first coming at 5 p.m. local time with a 53% probability and the second at 8 p.m. local time with a 51% probability.
The Weather Channel predicted a 90% chance of rain along with thunderstorms during the day and an 80% chance of rain at night.
Pakistan will be knocked out of the event if the match is washed out tomorrow, as the green shirts are currently ranked third in the Super 4 ranking on the basis of net-run rate. The points will be shared if the match ends in a tie, with India taking on Sri Lanka in the final on Sunday.
Green Shirts are lagging behind in the net run-rate, which is -1.892, in contrast to Sri Lanka, who has a slightly better run-rate of -0.2. The abysmal run rate is a result of the 228-run loss against India in a one-day international that was played over two days.
Moreover, Pakistan has announced the squad for the important match with five changes. Mohammad Haris, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, and Zaman Khan will take the places of Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah.
Pakistan Team
Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Zaman Khan.
