The India vs Pakistan Super Four clash in the ongoing Asia Cup will have a reserve day. This is a massive change in the playing conditions as earlier only the final of the tournament had a reserve day. The weather forecast for all the matches in Colombo is not promising and there is every possibility of a washout.
India and Pakistan clashed in the group stage on September 2 in Pallekele and even that game got washed out with rain not subsiding after India's innings ended. As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, according to the rules, efforts will be made to complete the match on the original day even if the umpires reduce the overs. Even after that, if the match goes into reserve day, the duration of the contest will remain the same.
A lot of water has flown over the last few days with regards to scheduling gaffe in the Asia Cup with former and current PCB Chairmans Najam Sethi and Zaka Ashraf taking direct digs on ACC President Jay Shah. Sethi has clearly stated that they were warned of rains in Sri Lanka during this period and PCB had suggested to stage matches in the UAE. But in response, Jay Shah, in a statement, has cleared that the match weren't scheduled in the UAE taking into account the players' health due to the heat in the country.
Coming back to the India vs Pakistan clash on Sunday, there is around 90% chance of rain in Colombo while the forecast doesn't improve even a bit on the reserve day. Perhaps, if the match goes into the reserve day, it could be extremely tiring for team India as they are scheduled to play their next match on Tuesday (September 12) against Sri Lanka and then against Bangladesh on September 15. The final of the Asia Cup is set to be played on September 17.
