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Sri Lanka and Pakistan are currently embroiled in a tense situation in the 2023 Asia Cup as their virtual knockout clash has been affected by rain. The Men in Green need a win to qualify for the final due to their inferior net run rate, while a washout will seal the deal for the defending champions.
No play has been possible so far with rain pelting down well before the game was set to get underway. There was a brief window where it seemed like play would begin shortly after the scheduled start time, leading to the players stepping out to warm up and captains even preparing for a toss as well.
However, dark clouds quickly made their way over to the venue and the ground has been fully covered since then, with the rain not relenting. Since there is no reserve day in place for the clash, both teams will have to bat out at least 20 overs to yield a decisive result.
According to the broadcasters, the cut-off time for a 20-over contest to begin has been set for 09:02 PM local time. If play cannot be kickstarted at the aforementioned time, then the points will be split between the two sides and Sri Lanka will advance into the Asia Cup 2023 final to face India by virtue of a superior net run rate
Furthermore, the match will start losing overs from 4:30 PM local time, which has been crossed already. As a result, even if the contest is resumed, it will not be a full 50-over per side regulation ODI contest.
The forecast for the rest of the day is not optimistic by any means, with the commentators referring to the current spell of showers as the heaviest one witnessed so far in the rain-marred tournament.
Sri Lanka's last ODI win over Pakistan came in 2015
The virtual knockout clash was quite an even match-up on paper with the injury-ravaged Pakistan taking on hosts Sri Lanka. Pakistan had the advantage when it came to recent meetings as they have secured eight consecutive ODI wins over Sri Lanka since 2015.
Sri Lanka's last win over Pakistan in the format came during the 5th ODI of a series in 2015, where they won by a mammoth margin of 165 runs.
Will Pakistan get a chance to make a case for the finals or will rain end their campaign? Let us know what you think.
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