Asia Cup 2023: What Happens If IND vs NEP Clash Gets Called Off Due To Rain?

IND vs NEP: With the India-Pakistan match getting called off due to rain at the Pallekele Stadium on Saturday (September 2), fans are now looking forward to the India vs Nepal clash at the same venue.

Ground staff cover the cricket pitch as rain stops the play during the Asia Cup Group A match between India and Pakistan at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on September 2, 2023 in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Source : Getty Images

IND vs NEP: India's opening encounter in Asia Cup 2023 against Pakistan ended without any result at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on September 2 (Saturday). While India won the toss and elected to bat first, in an innings which saw a couple of breaks, the Men in Blue eventually managed to post 266. However, they couldn't play out their entire quota of 50 overs and were bowled out in 48.5 overs with all 10 wickets falling to pace for the first time in Asia Cup history.

Shaheen Shah Afridi was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan in this match as he returned with figures of 4 for 35 in his 10 overs. Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf also picked 3 wickets apiece giving away 36 and 58 runs respectively. Moments after India's innings came to an end, it started to rain again and even though there was inspection and the Indian players did start to warm up and it looked like the match would resume at one stage, the showers returned and coveres were pulled back on after which no play was deemed possible.

As a result, India and Pakistan were forced to share points. This meant Pakistan became the first team to qualify for Super Fours in the Asia Cup 2023 with 3 points from 2 matches as they had won the tournament opener against Nepal in Multan on August 30. Meanwhile, India also have a point from 1 match.

 What Happens If IND vs NEP Clash Gets Called Off Due To Rain?

The big question now is that what happens if the India vs Nepal clash, scheduled at the same venue as the India vs Pakistan match, gets called off due to rain? In such a scenario, India and Nepal will get one point which will take India to 2 points and Nepal to 1 point from 2 matches. With top two teams heading to the Super Fours from each group, India will then join Pakistan in the next round from Group A. If India win then too, they will play the Super Fours. Only in case of a Nepal win over India will Rohit Sharma & Co. make an early exit from the continental tournament.