India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2023 Weather Report: Toss could be delayed, but weather set to improve in the evening

Over the last two days, Pallekele has been waking up to extremely gloomy conditions with dark clouds hovering around. Although the rain has stayed away since Thursday, the forecast was rather bleak for Saturday evening with 90 per cent of rain predicted till 6 pm. However, since Friday evening the city of Kandy and Pallekele that sits half an hour drive from it have not received any rainfall.

On Saturday, there were heavy breeze which were taking the dark clouds away from the vicinity, as it remained by far the most brightest of mornings since Wednesday. According to locals such a sight usually means, there will be only passing showers that last for half an hour to one. In such circumstances, teams tend to factor in the DLS equations at the toss. In case of rain around, most captains who win the toss decide to bowl first as they can get a clear picture of where they stand at the half-way stage. But with the pitch being on the slower side and showing signs of being challenging to score under lights, it may not be a straight forward decision. During the first matc here, despite the overhead conditions being gloomy, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and chose to bat first, but they stumbled midway through their innings to be all out for 163.

The forecast for India vs Pakistan match looks bleak with 90 per cent of rain predicted till 6 pm. (Photo Courtesy – Venkata Krishna B)

India skipper Rohit Sharma said the team has been having a close tab on the conditions. “We saw a bit of swing, bit of spin, we saw everything. And that is always challenging, you know, it’s always going to challenge the batters. Luckily, we’ve got experience in our batting line-up. I will let that experience come in play and play accordingly. Yes, I’ve said that we want to try and take the game on but you know, it’s important to read the situation conditions as well, because, you know, it’s not a T20 format, it’s a 50-over format so you have to apply for a little longer than T20 cricket. So, the whole idea of, is allowing them to be themselves and let them play their game,” skipper Rohit Sharma said.

With Pakistan having already got off the mark with a win over Nepal, even if this game is washed out, India can still make it through as they have a game in hand. Two teams from the group make it to the Super 4s which will be played in Colombo.

Both India and Pakistan teams trained on Friday evening and soon after the practice session finished, the groundstaff left the entire ground covered. In that case, even in case of a rain induced break, the chances of match getting underway soon after remains promising.

India have a 7-5 head-to-head record against Pakistan in the Asia Cup with only one fixture being washed out.