Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill deflate Pakistan before rain abandons play in Colombo

The much-anticipated India vs Pakistan Asia Cup Super Fours clash did provide Indian cricket fans with a lot to cheer for as the openers lay waste to Pakistan’s new ball bowling, with Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma switching gears early and putting Babar Azam’s men under the pump early on in Colombo.

However, after the openers departed in quick succession, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul seemed to be laying a platform for a big finish with the score on 147/2 from 24.1 overs, only for incessant rains to prevent play and push the match into the reserve day. 

Asked to bat first, Rohit and Gill took the Pakistani pace battery head on while playing a handful of exquisite shots. It was Gill who led the charge for India early on, scoring a flurry of boundaries, especially against Shaheen Shah Afridi. Rohit, who started slow, soon joined in, as the openers barely gave Pakistan any opportunity to have a look-in. 

It rained boundaries at the R. Premadasa Stadium with Gill hammering away another important fifty while the Indian captain was quick to dig in his heels, reaching his 50th fifty in style. Only after the opening pair had posted a staggering 121, did Pakistan manage to make inroads as Rohit (56) first holed out to Faheem Ashraf off Shadab Khan’s bowling, while Gill’s (58) stay was cut short by a clever slower delivery from Afridi. 

Once the openers were back in the hut, Virat (8*) and Rahul (17*) were going about their innings, only for the heavens to crack open with winds of extremely high speeds lashing away at the venue.

After detailed inspection, the match-officials were forced to call off the day’s play, forcing the match into the reserve day, with a full 50-over contest scheduled for a 3 PM IST start on September 11 and India to resume batting on 147/2 from 24.1 overs.

However, the chances of rain is at 90% at Colombo, meaning that we might definitely see a lot of rain interruptions on the reserve day. Only time will tell if the match does indeed produce a result, or the teams end up sharing points once again.