Colombo:Heavy rainfall in Colombo delayed the start of the reserve day in the Super Four clash of the Asia Cup between India and Pakistan at the R Premadasa Stadium on Monday.
On Sunday, under a sunny Colombo sky, captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill slammed quickfire fifties before falling in quick succession. KL Rahul and Virat Kohli were building their 24-run partnership before rain arrived in heaps to move the high-octane match into a reserve day.
At the time of rain interruption on Sunday, India were at 147/2 in 24.1 overs – Rohit made 56 while Gill scored 58 in a scintillating 121-run opening partnership. India were scheduled to restart their innings from that point on Monday, but heavy rain keeping the ground fully covered meant it played a spoilsport on those plans.
Before the match, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) had added a reserve day for the clash due to the rainy weather predicted to wash off the game. It came after persistent rain had prevented a result when the two teams played in the Asia Cup league stage match in Pallekele on September 2.
As per the playing conditions, a 20-over Pakistan chase can start as late as 10:36pm local time. Both India and Pakistan will share the points if the reserve day is also declared to be a washout. It means that India will be playing on three consecutive days, with their next Super Four game against Sri Lanka on September 12 at the same venue.
Brief Scores: India 147/2 in 24.1 overs (Shubman Gill 58, Rohit Sharma 56; Shaheen Shah Afridi 1-37, Shadab Khan 1-45) against Pakistan