Asia Cup 2023: Why India vs Pakistan clash in Pallekele might be cancelled

The stage is all set for the upcoming ACC Asia Cup 2023, scheduled to be held from August 30 to September 17. The matches will be held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The play is slated to begin at 3:00 PM IST on matchday. Against the backdrop of intense rivalries and a plethora of cricketing fervor, this specific installment of the tournament carries distinctive significance, given its timing just ahead of the highly anticipated Men's Cricket World Cup.

3 things you need to know

• This is the first time Pakistan is hosting the Asia Cup since 2008
• India are the current defending champions of the 50-over Asia Cup
• Rohit Sharma was the captain of the Indian team that won ODI Asia Cup in 2018

Also Read: 'Don't Rule Them Out': India Legend Fires Warning To Rohit Sharma Ahead Of Asia Cup 2023

Rain may impact the highly-anticipated India-Pakistan Asia Cup clash

The highly-anticipated clash of Asia Cup 2023 is scheduled for Saturday, September 2 at the Pallekelle International Stadium in Kandy, featuring hosts Pakistan and arch-rivals Team India. This edition of the Asia Cup adopts a 'hybrid model', with Team India playing all their matches in Sri Lanka, despite Pakistan being the designated host for the tournament. The BCCI had refused to send its team to Pakistan due to political tensions between both countries and called for its games to be held at a neutral venue. 

The tournament kicks off on Wednesday with the opening match between hosts Pakistan and Nepal in Multan. However, both Indian and Pakistani fans are anxiously monitoring the weather, as rain is predicted to potentially disrupt the second Group A clash between the two Asian giants. The match could be called off because of rainfall and the latest weather report from Pallekele suggests that there is a 60 percent chance of rain. 

Ahead of India's face-off with Pakistan, Bangladesh is slated to compete against defending champions Sri Lanka at the same venue on Thursday, August 31. However, for that match, there's about a 44 percent chance of rain. 

Also Read: 'It Is Challenging': Suryakumar Yadav Opens Up On 'cracking The Code' Ahead Of Asia Cup

IND vs PAK: The mother of all battles

Interestingly, India's most recent ODI encounter with Pakistan took place back in 2019 during the ICC Cricket World Cup at Old Trafford in Manchester. Rain also impacted the Manchester match, which India won using the DLS method by a margin of 89 runs. In the Asia Cup 2018, India faced Pakistan twice, triumphing with convincing 8-wicket and 9-wicket victories respectively, en route to securing the championship under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma.

Image: ACC