PALLEKELE (SRI LANKA): The weather in June 2019 when India played against Pakistan was heavy. There was rain before and during the 50-over World Cup match in England. It’s been over four years now since the arch-rivals played against each other in an ODI. Captains have changed and so have some of the players, but there is one constant - the fickle weather at Pallekele for the Asia Cup. It was pleasant on Friday but Saturday’s predictions are wet and gloomy.
India versus Pakistan evokes a certain kind of excitement that is unparalleled in sporting history. Even when Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem finished one-two in javelin at the world championships on Sunday, the buzz lingered on in India vs Pakistan. There is no escape. Despite weather threatening to spoil the fixture that is seen as a rehearsal to the cricket World Cup, fans are excited.
India won that World Cup match at Old Trafford, Manchester via the Duckworth/Lewis method with Rohit Sharma, the current captain, scoring a century.
Like in Manchester, there is forecast of rain from morning, which may delay the start of the day/night game. Rains had affected the game between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Thursday too. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam admitted the cloud can open up anytime in the Island Nation on a balmy Friday evening. “I have regularly been playing cricket here for the past two-three months. Going by my experience, I can say it may rain anytime here in Pallekele. Let’s hope it stays away and people get to watch a good game of cricket,” he said.
The two nations have played 13 matches against each other in the continental tournament held in 50-over format. India have won seven while Pakistan finished on the right side in five with one ending in no result. In 2018, when the Asia Cup was played in the ODI format, India won both their matches against Pakistan. The previous edition was played in T20 format last year and India failed to reach the final. Though he acknowledged this Pakistan side is in good form, Rohit would want to write a different script this time.
