India and Pakistan are set to face each other on the cricket field for the fourth time in just 30 days. This time, it’s the Indian women’s team taking on their arch-rivals in the Women’s ODI World Cup match in Colombo.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s side made a nervy start to the tournament in Guwahati and will be looking to assert their dominance on October 5. However, it won’t be an easy task. Apart from the off-field drama leading up to the match, the weather is also expected to pose a challenge for the Women in Blue on Sunday.
Colombo experienced a complete washout on October 4, when co-hosts Sri Lanka were unable to take the field against Australia. The toss never took place, and the teams were forced to share points. The good news is that conditions don’t look as grim today as they did yesterday.
IND vs PAK, Women’s World Cup: Preview
According to AccuWeather, showers are expected early in the morning in Colombo, which could lead to a delayed toss. However, the skies are likely to remain mostly clear for the remainder of the game. A second spell of rain is predicted later in the night, just around the time when teams will be chasing targets.
In these conditions, it becomes crucial for both teams to stay alert and focused for extended periods, which could turn out to be one of the biggest challenges today.
Fortunately, the Colombo ground staff are among the best in the world when it comes to dealing with rain interruptions. They stay on high alert at the boundary line, constantly monitoring cloud cover. If there’s even a hint of rain, they cover the entire infield quickly with tarps.
Once the rain passes, they use a unique system to drain water from the field, pushing it from the inside out and depositing it beyond the boundary. This efficiency allows play to resume as soon as conditions permit.
India Women vs Pakistan Women: Pitch Report
The Colombo pitch is expected to be excellent for batting. For the Australia vs Sri Lanka match, curators had left a fair amount of dead grass on the surface to give the wicket some pace. Broadcasters noted that anything short would be punished, and bowlers would need to keep their length slightly fuller to be effective. Unfortunately, with the game being abandoned, we didn’t get to see how the pitch actually played.
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