Madras Times - Sri Lanka and Pakistan share spoils in washed out World Cup clash

Heavy rain refused to relent, leaving players and fans drenched in disappointment. It was the last game in the Colombo leg of the tournament.

Of the 11 matches staged in the Sri Lankan capital, five ended in no-results, forcing teams to split points.

Several other games too were rain-disrupted, prompting questions as to whether Colombo’s monsoon-prone month was the right window to stage a global event.

Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have borne the brunt of inclement weather, with three of their seven outings each washed down the drain.

On Friday, the toss was delayed by more than three hours and the game was trimmed to 34 overs per side.

Pakistan had reached 18 without loss when the heavens opened again. Despite the tireless efforts of the ground staff, match officials finally threw in the towel at 8:00 pm local time with parts of the outfield still under water.

Sri Lanka climbed to fifth in the points table with five points, courtesy of one win and a point each from their three washed out games.

They will stay there if England defeat New Zealand on Sunday, ensuring the islanders finish above the White Ferns. It’s a commendable outcome for a side that had failed to qualify for the previous World Cup in New Zealand in 2022.

"We cannot control the weather. It has been very disappointing. We came into this tournament with lots of hope as we had beaten teams like India, New Zealand and South Africa in the recent past. But not much went our way in this campaign," Sri Lanka's captain Chamari Athapaththu said.

Pakistan ended their campaign without a single win, finishing in seventh place, one ahead of Bangladesh in the eight nation competition with all their points coming through rain affected games.

"The weather didn’t go in our favour. ICC must look into the best venues for World Cups. We are waiting for four years for a World Cup and it's disappointing to finish like this," Pakistan captain Fatima Sana said.

Y.Raman--MT