BRISTOL: If there was any easy picking in this World Cup for Pakistan it was here at the Bristol County Ground on Friday. They were fully aware that the game against shaky Sri Lanka was a perfect opportunity to record their second consecutive win in the event.
But to their utter disappointment, persistent downpour forced the organisers to call of the match without a ball being bowled.
Pakistan, who bounced back into contention for a place in the World Cup semifinals with a stunning 14-run triumph over England last Monday, will get a point from the washed out game against the Sri Lankans. But it’s hardly any consolation for the Pakistanis, who must have been fancying their chances of gaining full victory points from the game against a Sri Lankan team that has so far been quite unimpressive in the tournament.
The fact that the game was abandoned by the match officials because of wet conditions at about 3;46 pm local time was hardly surprising considering that it had been raining in Bristol for the best part of the day. Despite its reliable drainage system, it was apparent after a final inspection by the umpires that the outfield at the Country Ground was too wet to play the match.
Pakistan must have taken the outcome as a blow to their World Cup campaign. They came into the game with momentum on their side. After crashing miserably to West Indies in a World Cup mismatch in their opening game of the tournament, Pakistan came back strongly to upset England in a thriller at Trent Bridge. In contrast, Sri Lanka had so far come across as one of the weaker sides in the contest despite managing a hard-fought win against Afghanistan in their last game of the contest.
Pakistan now have three points from their three games and will now have to win at least four of their remaining six games to have any realistic chances of making it to the last-four stage of the tournament. Their lack of points from the first three games isn’t the only cause of concern for the Pakistanis. An extremely one-sided defeat against the West Indies in a game that saw them get bowled out for a mere 105 means that Pakistan really lag far behind in net run-rate, something that might decide their fate towards the business end of the tournament.
The washout means that this is for the first time in the tournament’s history that Pakistan have not defeated Sri Lanka in a World Cup encounter.
The Pakistanis will now travel to Taunton on Saturday (tomorrow) ahead of their fourth game of the tournament – a potentially-explosive encounter against defending champions Australia on June 12. The weather forecast doesn’t look for that game either but unlike Friday’s result, a washout against the resurging Aussies won’t really be a disappointing outcome for the Pakistanis.
