Pakistan is facing Sri Lanka in a virtual semi-final of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 at the R.Premadasa stadium in Colombo on Thursday as whoever wins, will confirm their place in the event’s final.
Team Green faced early blows but Abdullah Shafique’s nifty fifty provided some strength to Team Pakistan however later wickets continued to fall for visitors.
Babar XI were 130-5 and hopes were fading for big total but seasoned players Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed helped thier side to set a competitive total of 252 runs in 42 overs. Rizwan pushed his innings and made Pakistan’s comeback in the game with his spectacular 86 off 73 while Iftikhar supported the wicketkeeper batter and played a mature innings of 47 off 40.
Earlier, Pakistan \won the toss and decided to bat in the crucial Super Fours match against Sri Lanka, which will start with a delay of more than two hours due to heavy rain.
🚨 T O S S A L E R T 🚨
Pakistan win the toss and elect to bat first. The match has been reduced to 45 overs per side 🏏#PAKvSL | #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/dvinfuBN0F
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 14, 2023
A fresh spell of rain has delayed the crucial Pakistan-Sri Lanka match in Asia Cup 2023 and now the two sides will lock horns in a 45-over contest.
Premadasa Stadium was earlier covered after showers hit shortly before the toss. The toss, originally supposed to be held at 2:00 p.m., has now been delayed to 5 pm.
Graphics show blue covers spanning the Stadium in the Lankan capital as there is a strong chances of rains even in evening and since there is no reserve day in the Super Fours in this fixture, a washout today would end Pakistan’s journey in Asia Cup while Sri Lanka will make it to final.
Weather forecasters predicted over 90 percent chances of showers with thunderstorms and the game is likely to be washed away. Babar XI, after losing momentum, eye a comeback against face Sri Lanka as it is a must-win game to advance in a transcontinental event, and the winner of the Super 4 clash will qualify for the final of the event against India.
As fans are expecting Green Shirts to batter co-hosts, weather is likely to play spoilsport during the game as the whole event saw showers. Earlier, the Pakistan-India high-octane game was washed out and the second game between Asian giants was badly affected by rain and consequently finished on the reserve day.
Amid the grim situation, cricket fans are wondering what if rests of the matches are washed out. Firstly, Rohit led Team India has already qualified for the Asia Cup final, and Bangladesh are already out of the race for the final.
Pakistan and Lankan Lions will share one point but latter will advance to the final, courtesy of their better net run-rate (NRR). Team Green faced huge defeat from arch-rival India and the net run-rate plunged to -1.892, Sri Lanka on the other hand managed to have an NRR of -0.2.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the playing XI for the Super Four match against Sri Lanka with five changes in the team. These changes have been made as three players sustained injuries in match against India earlier this week.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka teams have two points each after playing two matches and winner of the today’s game will reach the final of the tournament.
The Met Office has predicted rain during the match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Team green would fail to qualify for the final if the match is spoiled by the rain as ending in no result will give one point each to both teams.
Pakistan vs India live streaming on mobile phone
Pakistan vs India live streaming will be available for cricket fans in Pakistan at Tapmad and Tamasha while Indian fans can watch the match free by downloading Disney Plus Hotstar app from Play Store or App Store.
