Asia Cup 2023 final likely to take place in Kandy instead of Colombo

The much-anticipated final of the 2023 Asia Cup is reportedly to move out of the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo amid the inclement weather conditions in the city. The match is likely to be contested at the Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy since the weather forecast in the capital city does not look promising for September 17, according to various media reports.

Pallekele hosted three group-stage matches which included the high-pressure match between India and Pakistan on September 2. Notably, the game was washed out after India scored 266 runs in the first innings. Meanwhile, the first game hosted by Pallekele, between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, was completed without any disruptions. 

Apart from the match against the arch-rivals, India’s game against Nepal was also marred by rain. However, the Men in Blue won it by ten wickets using the DLS method. The Super Four stage clash between India and Pakistan was also marred by rain and it was moved to the reserve day. 

India beat Pakistan by 228 runs in Super Four stage clash

Speaking about India’s first Super Four stage clash, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl. Courtesy of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill’s century-plus partnership, India were at 147 for two in 24.1 overs before the rain arrived.

KL Rahul and Virat Kohli resumed the action on the reserve day, scoring their respective centuries and helping India to post a mammoth 356/2 in 50 overs. Rahul, who returned after a six-month hiatus due to an injury, finished the innings on an unbeaten 111 from 106 balls while the former India skipper smashed an unbeaten 122 from 94 deliveries.

Later, Kuldeep Yadav finished with excellent figures of 5/25 as India bundled out Babar Azam and Co. by 128 runs in 32 overs. Apart from Kuldeep, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Shardul Thakur picked one wicket each. Fakhar Zaman was the top-scorer of Pakistan, scoring 27 off 50 deliveries.