Asia Cup: Will India-Nepal match be impacted by rain?
Match 5 of the 2023 Asia Cup will mark the first international meeting between India and Nepal. The contest is scheduled to take place at Sri Lanka's Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on September 4. However, the match is all but likely to be affected by rain. A few days back, the India vs Pakistan game here also got washed out. Here are further details.
What does the weather say?
It has been raining quite heavily in Pallekle for the last few days. As per Accuweather, things are not looking promising. There is an 80 % chance of precipitation on the match day and the temperature is expected to be around 27 degree Celsius. Even if the rain halts, the ground staff would have a hard time drying the wet outfield.
What happened in the Indian-Pakistan game?
Rain halted the Indian-Pakistan game on several occasions before the match got called off. Only the first innings was possible as the Men in Blue were folded for 266 in 48.5 overs. The overcast conditions assisted the fast bowlers as India lost all their 10 wickets to pacers in the duel. Notably, the conditions eased out for batting after the ball got old.
What if the game gets washed out?
If the game has to be shortened, both sides will be required to play at least a 20-over contest. But if even that is not possible, India and Nepal will share points. Notably, India earned a point following the abandoned game against Pakistan as well while Nepal lost their opener to Babar Azam's men. Hence, a washout would power India to the Super-4 stage.
A look at the Probable XI of both sides
India (Probable XI): Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (WK), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj. Nepal (Probable XI): Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (WK), Rohit Paudel (C), Aarif Sheikh, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Gulsan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi.
