The toss for the match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan on Thursday, which is essentially the semifinal of the Asia Cup 2023, was postponed as rain began only minutes before the toss was scheduled to take place.
Now Rain stopped and Match started, Pakistan won the toss and elected to Bat first .
Match overs reduced 45 overs game will be played today due to rain .
The pivotal encounter is the fourth Pakistan vs. India contest of the competition, and rain is forecast. All of the Green Shirts’ previous games there were impacted by persistent downpours.
Both teams have recently suffered demoralizing defeats against India. When facing India on Tuesday, Sri Lanka seemed to have a very good chance of beating their goal of 214, but Dunith Wellalage’s valiant efforts with bat and ball fell just short.
Pakistan’s humiliation at the hands of their fiercest rivals was more complete; they lost by a record 228 runs over two terrible days, losing two of their three top fast bowlers in the process.
Additionally, Naseem Shah has been disqualified from the competition and Haris Rauf is equally unlikely to feature again.
Both teams now view today’s game as a virtual semifinal, and a solid showing will offer them the opportunity to make up for everything in the championship game. Sri Lanka will secure its spot in the championship game if today’s game is postponed since they have a greater run rate than the Green Shirts.
Mohamad Haris, Abdullah shafeeq , Fakhar zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, , Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim, and Zaman Khan make up the playing XI for Pakistan.
Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka is number five, followed by Dhananjaya de Silva, Kasun Rajitha, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, and Matheesha Pathirana. Dasun Shanka serves as captain.
