India and Pakistan share spoils in a rain-dampened encounter

Pallekele's dampened spirits in the end probably gave way to what now seems like a slightly tricky road ahead for India as they will have to secure a victory against Nepal in tomorrow's encounter or hope for rain to wash away the game.

Winning the toss against Pakistan, India opted to bat first and looked good initially as Rohit Sharma played his shots on an aggressive note. However, it was the rain that tricked India into a sudden slump, aiding Shaheen Afridi's skill set.

India suffered a triple whammy that crippled their batting order as Afridi and Haris Rauf raged through the top order claiming the big wickets of Rohit, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill in no time.

As India stuttered at 66/4, it all rested on the shoulders of Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya to help India out of the deep pitfall that they were stuck in and the duo did shine brighter than the sun in an otherwise lackluster batting display from the Indian team.

The duo posted a match-defining partnership of 138 runs that saw the Men in Blue getting back in the game. Kishan smashed 82 from 81 balls, hammering away nine fours and two sixes while Pandya played the perfect two to tango with a blistering 87 from 90 balls.

Thanks to this partnership, India posted 266 on the board before the heavens cracked open again and there wasn't any further play on the day as the two teams shared the spoils of the game.

India will be facing Nepal tomorrow and a victory for the Men in Blue will cement their place in the Super Four which will see the two continental juggernauts go face to face again.