Another India vs Pakistan contest in the Asia Cup was marred due to rain on Sunday, with the Colombo weather making sure that no play was possible after 24.1 overs, from which Indian batters had scored 147 runs at the loss of 2 wickets. Thankfully, a reserve day was kept in place by the Asian Cricket Council for the match in Colombo. But, the weather conditions at the R Premadasa stadium aren’t as conducive for cricket as the two teams would’ve liked on Monday too.
India got off to a flier against Pakistan, who were left to rue some missed opportunities in the field. Skipper Rohit Sharma scored a half-century before being dismissed while his opening partner Shubman Gill also completed a fifty. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were hoping to take India to a strong total but rain pushed the match to reserve day.
What happens in case of a washout on the reserve day?
As the format of the Super 4 goes, all four qualified teams will play against each other once. At present, Pakistan and Sri Lanka occupy the top two spots, with 2 points each. Babar Azam’s men (+1.051) are ahead of the Lankans (+0.420) because of a better Net Run Rate.
India, in comparison, haven’t yet opened their tally, with the Pakistan match being their first in the Super 4s. Bangladesh are 4th with a points tally of -0.749. They are all but out of the race for the final already.
In a case where the India vs Pakistan match in the Super 4 stage gets washed out, points will be shared between the two teams. Such a scenario would take Pakistan’s tally to 3 points which will help them remain top of the points table while India will remain third with 1 point in their kitty.
A washout, hence, could prove dangerous for the Indian team if they fail to win at least one of their next two matches. With Sri Lanka already securing one win, they remain ahead of India in the points table.
Though India are to play two more matches — against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — in the Super 4s, there’s no guarantee that those matches won’t see washouts. Hence, rain-marred contests, including the match against Pakistan, aren’t very beneficial for the Indian team.
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