Asia Cup: Prospect of rain on reserve day casts another shadow on India-Pak game | Cricket News

The inevitable happened in the end. Shortly after Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill had taken over Colombo in a storm, dark clouds that were nowhere in the vicinity till the evening parked over R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.
Steady rain, which began around 4:50 pm, lasted for about an hour, doing enough damage to the outfield. Even though the groundstaff put in plenty of work to fix the puddles, another brief spell of rain around 8.30 pm took the India vs Pakan Super 4 match of the Asia Cup into the reserve day, which was controversially included for this fixture alone as the tournament continues to be battered wet weather in Sri Lanka.
However, the forecast for Monday isn’t much better either, with heavy showers and thunderstorms predicted for the evening. According to AccuWeather, there is a 99 percent chance of rain, starting at 5 pm.

India, who were 147/2 in 24.1 overs, will resume their innings on Monday at 3 PM () and the contest will remain a 50-over affair. The reserve day was not originally part of the schedule and was included after the previous match between these two teams in Pallekele was washed out the previous weekend.
Unlike Saturday when a strong breeze coming from the Indian Ocean took away the dark clouds leading to Sri Lanka’s match against Bangladesh being played without any hindrance, conditions were building up for heavy rain since Sunday morning with humidity on the higher side. And even though it was a passing shower, the intensity of the rain was such that several puddles had formed even before the groundstaff could bring the covers on.

UPDATE – Play has been called off due to persent rains 🌧️
See you tomorrow (reserve day) at 3 PM !
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/kg7Sh2t5pM #TeamIndia | #AsiaCup2023 | #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/7thgTaGgYf
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 10, 2023
Though the rain relented and the steady drizzle that followed stopped at 6 pm, 6:22 PM it was evident that overs would be lost. And with two huge puddles forming at opposite ends, the groundstaff were left to do patchwork that lasted for about a couple of hours.
Even before bringing the super sopper, the groundstaff used huge sponges to soak in the water and even sawdust was brought out to cover one of the puddles that was close to the square.
These huge spots were one of the prime concerns for both India and Pakan, who deemed the conditions too risky for a restart. Apart from the outfield being extremely wet, players appeared unhappy about the soaked field that could lead to injuries so close to the World Cup.
It led the groundstaff to bring in even table fans to dry up the area before the super sopper got down to business. After three inspections – at 7 pm, 7.30 pm and 8 pm – the one slotted for 8.30 pm evoked promise as a restart looked likely at 9 pm with umpires Chris Gaffaney and Ruchira Palliyaguruge satisfied with the conditions for a 34-over contest. However, another steady shower just before the inspection at 8.30 pm put an end to all hopes of the match restarting on Sunday.Most Read
1
India vs Pakan Live Score, Asia Cup 2023: Play called off in Colombo, will resume on reserve day

2
Jawan box office collection day 3: Shah Rukh Khan-starrer earns Rs 384.69 crore worldwide

See More

“We have got two main issues, near square leg and point. They are quite wet and soft. The foundation of the ground there is too soft and dangerous for the players,” the umpires told the broadcaster.

With the match heading into the reserve day, should a 50-over game be completed on Monday, it will make things difficult for India. Rohit Sharma & Co are scheduled to take on Sri Lanka in their second Super 4 match on Tuesday and in case they play a full 50-over contest, their bowlers will have very little time to recover. Jasprit Bumrah is coming after a long injury lay-off and playing back-to-back matches in these conditions could be exhausting, particularly if the rain stays away.
Under those circumstances, India may be forced to ring in changes, which is far from ideal for their preparation for the World Cup as they are looking to play their full-strength XI in all matches in the lead-up. This could open the door for Mohammed Shami and Prasidh Krishna to come in so that Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj get adequate rest before their third Super 4 match against Bangladesh, scheduled for Friday.