Colombo, Feb 21 (UNI) The opening Super 8 clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 was abandoned without a ball being bowled as persistent rain played spoilsport at the R Premadasa Stadium here on Saturday.
At 21:07 Local Time, rain returned to have the final say in the contest, leaving both teams to share one point each in a disappointing start to their Super 8 campaign.
The match had already been delayed by light drizzle, which forced covers onto the field shortly before the scheduled start as ground staff worked to keep the playing area dry amid intermittent showers.
Pakistan had earlier won the toss and elected to bat, with skipper Salman Agha backing a spin-heavy strategy to exploit the Colombo surface. Pakistan made one change, bringing in Fakhar Zaman while retaining a balanced bowling attack featuring two frontline pacers and multiple spin options.
“We are going to bat first. We have one change. Fakhar is playing and Nafay is not playing. We have one pacer, Faheem Ashraf — he is a good all-rounder. So we have two pacers and a lot of spin options. They are a quality side, we know that. We have to play our A game and that is what we look forward to today,” Salman said.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner confirmed three changes to his XI, including an extra spin option.
“We have three changes. We have gone with an extra spinner Ish Sodhi instead of Kyle Jamieson. Lockie is back for Duffy. Could be a little bit different here compared to the conditions in Chennai, but we have seen a lot of the games throughout the tournament here and we know the challenge they possess,” Santner said.
New Zealand Playing XI: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson.
Pakistan Playing XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq.
The rain-hit start to the Super 8 stage sets up anticipation for the next set of matches as the cricket carnival continues.
Fans will now turn their attention to tomorrow’s double-header, with England taking on Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Stadium, followed by a blockbuster clash between India and South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad — with the forecast looking more favorable for a full day of action.
