The Super 4 match between Pakistan and India are scheduled to take place on September 10.
In a strange, unprecedented move that is going to raise plenty of eyebrows and add more chaos to the Asia Cup, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has decided to include a reserve day only for India vs Pakistan Super 4’s stage game to be played in Colombo on Sunday. The Indian Express understands that the Indian team was communicated about the reserve day officially by the ACC a couple of days ago and this will be only in place for this game. In case the match on Sunday cannot be completed, it will continue on Monday.
Ever since last weekend’s group stage match between India and Pakistan was washed out, there were discussions to take the tournament out of Colombo and play it in Hambantota. But, the ACC stuck to the original schedule and with heavy rain forecast line-up for the weekend matches which includes Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh on Saturday and India vs Pakistan on Sunday, the organisers have decided to add reserve day only for the latter, which happens to be a big-ticket clash that brings in lot of revenue from a broadcasters point of view.
“A reserve day has been incorporated for the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4’s match between India and Pakistan scheduled to take place on 10th September at Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. If adverse weather suspends play during the Pakistan vs India game, the match will continue on 11th September from the point it was suspended,” the ACC said in a statement.
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This means India and Pakistan stand to have an advantage over hosts Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the race for the final, especially given the wet weather conditions the tournament is going to encounter over the next few days. The Colombo leg of Super 4’s begins on Saturday with hosts taking on Bangladesh. And in case the game is washed out, both will share points as they don’t have the privilege of a reserve day.
Even the India vs Pakistan fixture having a reserve day on Monday isn’t a good news for Rohit Sharma & Co. India are scheduled to play Sri Lanka on Tuesday and in case their game against Pakistan extends to the reserve day will have a very short turnover, where there is a strong possibility that they play back-to-back matches. Heavy showers and thunderstorms are predicted for whole of Sunday evening.
After a two-day break then India will take on Bangladesh in the Super 4 fixture on Friday. Having scheduled back-to-back matches over the coming weekend and Thursday and Friday, the strange nature of the scheduling means the advantage of a reserve day hasn’t been extended to other teams, denying them of a level playing field.
First published on: 08-09-2023 at 13:23 IST
