After the first T20 World Cup Group 2 Super Eights match in Colombo on Saturday was canceled due to persistent rain, New Zealand and Pakistan shared a point.
Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first in the mild rain.
The authorities were forced to end the match before a ball was bowled because the steady drops quickly turned into an unrelenting torrent.
Fakhar Zaman replaced Khawaja Nafay in Pakistan’s XI before the skies opened up.
After captain Mitchell Santner missed the previous game against Canada due to a stomach ailment, New Zealand made three changes. Lockie Ferguson and Ish Sodhi were also included in the starting lineup.
However, because Pakistan will now play England in Colombo on February 24, all those calculations and combinations will have to wait till another day. On February 25, New Zealand will play hosts Sri Lanka, in Colombo.
Additionally, the washout has put Pakistan and the Kiwis in a more competitive position going into their final two Super Eight games. Their hopes of making it to the semifinals could be seriously jeopardized by a loss, a similar outcome in any of the upcoming games, or a possibility given Sri Lanka’s weather trend.
The teams advance based on points, run rate, head-to-head results, and ICC ranking if all of Sri Lanka’s Super 8s matches are canceled. Therefore, England and New Zealand will advance to the semifinals if all three are rained out.
