ACC Introduces Reserve Day for India vs Pakistan Super 4 Match in Asia Cup 2023
With weather conditions being reported to be overcast, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has decided to add a reserve day for the Super 4 match between India and Pakistan on Friday which is exclusive for this particular fixture, scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 10, in Colombo. No other Super 4 games held in Sri Lanka will have such an option. This would imply that if rain will washout the highly anticipated match between India vs Pakistan, then the match can be resumed from the point it was halted on the next day.
As per the statement released by the ACC, “A reserve day has been incorporated for the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4’s match between Pakistan and India scheduled to take place on 10th September 2023 at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.”
The statement also added, “If adverse weather suspends play during the Pakistan vs India game, the match will continue on 11th September 2023 from the point it was suspended.”
The only other game which also has a reserve day is the Asia Cup final which is scheduled for September 17 where the conditions are reportedly going to be overcast and heavy rains could be present in the capital city of Sri Lanka. In case a washout occurs, ACC said that the ticket-holders can keep their match tickets which will continue to be valid on the reserve day as well.
Pakistan Cricket Board management committee chairman, Mr. Zaka Ashraf had recently written to the ACC chairman Mr. Jay Shah, demanding compensation for allegedly losing out on considerable revenue from gate receipts due to poor crowd response for the games in Sri Lanka.
India’s first group-stage match against arch-rivals Pakistan was forced to be called off after heavy rains at the end of the first innings where India managed to score a total of 266 runs. India was under massive pressure after Shaheen Afridi blew away the Indian top-order dismissing both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in quick time but Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan stitched together a decent total for the Indians to defend. The Indian bowling attack did not get the chance to defend the score due to the rains which stopped the entirety of the second innings without a single ball being bowled.
Whilst the chances of the PCB receiving any sort of compensation from the ACC are very slim, the reserve day option is the practical solution to rectify the issue despite rising tensions between the continental body and the tournament hosts.
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ACC, Asia Cup 2023, Reserve Day, India vs Pakistan, Cricket, Rain Interruption, Compensation