Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of the World Cup 2019 match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the County Ground in Bristol.
JUST IN: Match has been called off without a ball being bowled. We have the first washout of this edition.
Finally, some good news : Sarfaraz Ahmed, Babar Azam, Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali can be seen inspecting the field even as the sun comes out! The umpires are out again, closely monitoring the wet patches near the
ropes. square.
We are through with the inspection. An update on the start of play is awaited! The next inspection will be at 15:15 local (7:45 IST)
UPDATE: It has finally stopped raining in Bristol. There will be an inspection at 7:00 pm Indian time. The umpires are out for inspection. There's a forecast for hail at 11:30 pm (IST), per the British Met department.
In other news, Nadal's cruising against Federer in the French Open semifinal| Federer vs Nadal LIVE, French Open 2019 semifinals
Meanwhile, Loss, win, rain: Shades of 1992 in Pakistan's first three World Cup 2019 games | Shades of 1992
As we await further updates on the 'rain situation', here's a look at how the weather gods have spoilt the party at the World Cup in previous editions: South Africa almost always finds itself at the receiving end | World Cup, rain, miscalculation and South Africa heartbreaks
UPDATE: Both teams will arrive at the ground in 15 minutes time. However, no signs of rain abating anytime soon.
Reports suggest: A 20-over game might be on the cards, provided the ground is handed over to the umpires by 3pm (7:30 pm IST) so that play can start by 4.15pm (8:45 pm)
It doesn't look very promising; the weather. While reports suggest the rain is likely to relent toward the afternoon, chances of a 100-over conest look unlikely for the time being | Rain likely to play spoilsport
The inevitable happens: Toss has been delayed due to rain. We will keep you posted on the situation as and when we get an update.
After a tame defeat to West Indies, Pakistan stunned England in the second match it played in the ongoing World Cup. Can the 2017 Champions Trophy winner go all the way to clinch its second World Cup title? Here is a short analysis on the team's chances.
Sri Lanka has had a shaky start to the World Cup, but captain Dimuth Karunaratne expressed optimism on Thursday. Here's what he had to say .
This will be the second match to be held in Bristol in the 2019 World Cup. Here are some facts about the venue.
The triumph in 1996 is Sri Lanka’s greatest achievement in sports. No one had given it a chance to win the cricket World Cup, but Arjuna Ranatunga’s side took the world by storm| Unfancied Sri Lanka's greatest sporting achievement
Wahab Riaz has reignited his love affair with World Cups by delivering a crucial spell that helped Pakistan wrest control of a close contest against England at Trent Bridge and go on to win the match by 14 runs| Wahab Riaz, a bowler of great World Cup spells
Hasan Ali said Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur’s ongoing faith in the side was behind a stunning reversal of fortune that saw the team end a long losing streak with a superb World Cup win over England | Hasan Ali hails Mickey Arthur for Pakistan revival
World Cup 2019: 'Ruthless' Pakistan takes on upbeat Sri Lanka
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has urged his team to “stay ruthless” at the World Cup as it looks forward to neutralise the Sri Lankan challenge after a hard-fought victory over England.
The notoriously unpredictable Pakistan side held its nerve to beat the host by 14 runs at Trent Bridge on Monday, just three days after crashing to a seven-wicket defeat against West Indies at the same venue.
That ended a sequence of 11 consecutive defeats for the team, in completed one-day internationals.
READ| World Cup 2019: Pakistan beats England by 14 runs - as it happened
Arthur praised his team's resolve after a “shocking” defeat in their tournament opener.
“It was just so good to see us go out and play with the belief and intensity that we had spoken about,” Arthur told AFP.
“When we put all three disciplines together we know we can beat anybody. We now need to stay consistent and ruthless.”
Pakistan posted an impressive 348-8 against a potent England bowling attack, with fifties from veteran Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam and Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Pacers Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir, and leg-spinner Shadab Khan, took the wickets to restrict England to 334-9 in their 50 overs.
“You could see the hunger, the determination and the resolve to do well in batting after a horror show and then the bowlers fought hard, so we need to repeat that in the coming matches as well,” said Arthur.
The Pakistan National cricket team has won all seven of their World Cup matches against the Sri Lankan National Cricket Team dating back to the first tournament in 1975.
Pakistan will be tempted to bring in fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain for his raw pace, something that New Zealand exploited against Sri Lanka during its 10-wicket rout of their opponent in Cardiff on Saturday.
ALSO READ| World Cup 2019, AFG v SL: Sri Lanka bowlers deliver morale-lifting victory
On Tuesday, Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan in a rain-shortened match, also in Cardiff, to breathe life into its campaign.
But the 1996 champion will be wary of another middle-order batting collapse after it lost five wickets for 14 runs against New Zealand and seven wickets for 36 runs against Afghanistan.
Sri Lanka coach Chandika Hathurusingha said he had told his batsmen to up their game.
“I don't give pep talks. I give honest talk, that's all."
“I tell them what has to be done. They have to come and perform,” said Hathurusingha, who praised opener Kusal Perera for his 78-run knock, which helped Sri Lanka reach 201 against Afghanistan.
“He's an amazing player,” said Hathurusingha. “We have given him the full licence to bat the way he wants to bat. We know that when he's come up, most of the time it's match-winning.”
But one factor outside anybody's control is the weather, with persistent rain forecast for Bristol on Friday.
The match will be streamed live on Hotstar.
Comments
SHARE