Colombo weather is once again making the headlines ahead of the opening Super 8 clash between New Zealand and Pakistan. The match is on Saturday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, but it could be disrupted significantly due to rain. It rained a lot on Friday, on the eve of the clash and there is more in the offing on Saturday.
According to Accuweather, Colombo is set to witness a lot of rain in the lead-up to the clash. There is more than 50% chance of rain from 2 PM to 5 PM local time. There are also scattered thunderstorms predicted as per Google weather around 7 PM and this could majorly disrupt the start of the match and even toss could be delayed.
It will stay cloudy even after 8 PM, which opens up a possibility of further rain playing spoilsport in Colombo. DLS seems certain to come into play and both teams, Pakistan and New Zealand, would be wary of the conditions on offer.
New Zealand, Pakistan aim for winning start in Super 8
Meanwhile, even though rain is in the offing, both New Zealand and Pakistan will be aiming to start their Super 8 round campaign on a high note. There is a little margin for error in this round as even a single loss will put a team under a lot of pressure. New Zealand lost only one out of four matches in the group stage but they went down meekly to South Africa and would want to put their best foot forward against the men in green.
As for Pakistan, they lost by 61 runs to arch-rivals India at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo but registered wins over the Netherlands, USA and Namibia. Having said that, Salman Ali Agha and his men will have a point to prove as they are yet to beat a big team in this World Cup.
Squads
New Zealand Squad: Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell(c), Cole McConchie, James Neesham, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi, Devon Conway, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson
Pakistan Squad:ย Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan(w), Khawaja Nafay, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Naseem Shah
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