Rain clouds loom large over Pak-SL Asia Cup ‘semi-final’
Pakistan’s Asia Cup journey might be cut short as the match against Sri Lanka to be played in Colombo on Thursday is likely to be hampered by rain, according to multiple weather forecasts.
The Super Four match will see the two sides, who are hosting the Asia Cup on a hybrid model, face each other in a do-or-die clash — characterised by some as a “virtual semi-final” — at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in the Sri Lankan capital tomorrow. The match is scheduled to begin at 2:30pm (PST).
Weather forecaster AccuWeather predicted unfavourable conditions in Colombo. According to the forecaster, there was a 93 per cent probability of rain with a 56pc chance of thunderstorms affecting the tie during the day with “a couple of showers and a thunderstorm”.
For the night, it predicted a 98pc cloud cover with rain in spots with a 48pc chance of precipitation and a 28pc chance of thunderstorms.
During the match timings, the forecaster predicted two separate spells of rain with one coming at 5pm local time with a 53pc probability and the other at 8pm local time with a 51pc probability.
The Weather Channel predicted a 90pc chance of rain along with thunderstorms during the day and an 80pc chance of rain at night.
According to the BBC’s weather forecaster, the Sri Lankan capital will see “thundery showers and a gentle breeze” tomorrow.
Similar to AccuWeather, BBC also predicted two spells of rain with a higher than 80pc probability of a downpour.
The Green Shirts will be knocked out of the Asian championship if the game is washed out tomorrow as Pakistan are currently ranked third in the Super Four ranking on the basis of net-run-rate. The points will be shared if the match ends in a draw with India taking on Sri Lanka in the final on Sunday.
Pakistan are lagging behind in the net run-rate, which is -1.892, in comparison to Sri Lanka who have a slightly better run-rate of -0.2. The abysmal run-rate is a consequence of the 228-run loss against India in a one-day international that was played over two days.
Rain and the Asia Cup
Rain washed out the Pakistan-India one-day international at the Pallakele Stadium in Sri Lanka on Sep 2 and brought about an anticlimactic end as the Green Shirts were left waiting for their chance to bat.
The second game between the two sides was also hampered by rain when the two sides met each other in the Super Four on Sunday.
Rain further played a part in the game between India and Sri Lanka, another dominant performance from India in the second innings as they won by 41 runs.
Earlier this month, the Asian Cricket Council had considered moving games in the Super Four round of the ongoing Asia Cup away from Colombo as wet weather loomed over the Sri Lankan capital.
The hybrid-model solution was proposed by the official Asia Cup host Pakistan after the Board of Control for Cricket in India refused last year to play the tournament in the country.