Asia Cup 2023: India vs. Pakistan Match Declared Canceled Due to Rain

New Delhi, 2nd September 2023: The highly anticipated Asia Cup 2023 encounter between India and Pakistan has been declared canceled due to persistent rain.

In a rain-affected match, the Indian cricket team batted first and managed to post a total of 266 runs, losing all their wickets in 48.5 overs. The innings was characterized by a remarkable century partnership between Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya. Unfortunately, immediately after the conclusion of India’s innings, rain began to pour, preventing the match from commencing.

The umpires inspected the ground at 9 pm and revised Pakistan’s target accordingly. However, the inclement weather continued, leading to the eventual cancellation of the match.

Throughout the Indian innings, there were two interruptions due to rain, which worked in favor of Pakistan as they managed to pick up crucial wickets. The Indian team, batting first, suffered an early setback when Captain Rohit Sharma was bowled out by Shaheen Afridi after scoring 22 runs from 11 balls. Virat Kohli also fell quickly, contributing just four runs from seven balls. Shreyas Iyer, making his return after approximately five months, showed promise but could only manage 14 runs off nine balls. Shubhman Gill added 10 runs to the total.

However, the standout partnership of the innings came from Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya, who put together a remarkable 138-run stand in 141 balls for the fifth wicket. Ishan Kishan played a pivotal role, scoring 82 runs from 81 balls, featuring nine boundaries and two sixes. Hardik Pandya departed after contributing 87 runs from 90 balls. Unfortunately, apart from these two notable performances, no other Indian batsman could surpass the 20-run mark.

Pakistan’s fast bowlers, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, made significant contributions with the ball, with Shaheen Afridi claiming four wickets and Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah taking three wickets each.