What happened the last time India played an ODI in Pallekele? 

Team India are set to get their Asia Cup 2023 campaign underway when they face Pakistan at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele on Saturday, September 2.

The hype surrounding this fixture is palpable, as India and Pakistan share a formidable rivalry. The two sides only face each other in multi-national tournaments, adding extra spice to this contest.

Situated in the city of Kandy, the surface at Pallekele often aids the batters, with the average first-innings total in ODIs at the venue being around 250.

India have a great track record at Pallekele, having won each of their three ODI encounters there. They played their first ODI in Pallekele in 2012, before featuring in two more matches against Sri Lanka in 2017.

India's last ODI match at the venue saw them win the game by a margin of six wickets. The game will also be remembered for a bottle-throwing incident, which occurred as a result of Sri Lanka's poor performance in the series.

Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka lost Niroshan Dickwella (13) and Kusal Mendis (1) to the fiery pace of Jasprit Bumrah. However, a 72-run partnership between Dinesh Chandimal (36) and Lahiru Thirimanne (80) enabled the hosts to rebuild their innings. But as soon as Hardik Pandya (1/42) broke the partnership, India began to dominate once more.

Axar Patel and Kedar Jhadav took one wicket apiece before Bumrah came back to torment Sri Lanka, finishing with figures of 5/27. The hosts eventually ended up with 217/9.

Jasprit Bumrah took a remarkable fifer the last time he played an ODI in Pallekele [Getty Images]

In reply, Rohit Sharma got India off to a flying start. But Sri Lanka fought hard to take the early wickets of Shikhar Dhawan (5) and Virat Kohli (3). A few overs later, Akila Dananjaya's double strike of KL Rahul (17) and Kedar Jhadav (0) put India in deep trouble, with the score reading 61/4 after 15.1 overs.

However, the visitors were in no mood to give the Lankans any hope in the series as Rohit and MS Dhoni frustrated the bowlers. The duo batted magnificently to negotiate the spin threat before finishing the chase at a canter.

Rohit, in particular, dominated during his knock to notch his maiden ODI hundred in Sri Lanka. He remained unbeaten on 124, hitting 16 boundaries and two sixes.

MS Dhoni, meanwhile, came out to bat at No. 6 and skillfully absorbed the pressure. He shepherded the team home with a brilliant unbeaten knock of 67.

Bumrah was adjudged the Player of the Match for his outstanding spell of 10-2-27-5 in the first innings.

---

Rain could interrupt the India vs Pakistan clash

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy [Twitter]

As previously reported by Sportskeeda, the encounter between India and Pakistan could be interrupted by rain.

According to AccuWeather, periodic heavy showers are expected on Saturday. The probability of rain is 58 percent at the beginning of the game and rises to 65 percent as the day progresses.

Supporters on both sides will certainly be praying to the weather Gods ahead of the marquee clash between the Asian giants.