India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2023 final rain updates live: Play begins after rain delays start, Sri Lanka bat first after winning toss
After rain delayed start of play in the Asia Cup 2023 final between India and Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, September 17, the match started at 3:40 PM, following an inspection.
Rain arrived in Colombo just before the start of the final, delaying the match. Earlier, Sri Lanka won toss and are decided to bat first in the final. The conditions were bright and sunny for most part of the day before the rain came in after the toss.
Both India and Sri Lanka have had to make forced changes due to injuries in the camp. For India, Axar Patel has been ruled out of the final, so Washington Sundar comes in. For Sri Lanka, Dushan Hemantha replaces Maheesh Theekshana.
While the weather forecast was not good, as it has been throughout the tournament, conditions in Colombo were bright and sunny on the morning of the final.
Fans and journalists shared some updates on social media regarding the morning weather in Colombo.
Cricket journalist Sunandan Lele shared a video at 8:34 AM on his X [formerly Twitter] handle and stated that the conditions are bright and sunny in Colombo in the morning.
Another scribe, Vimal Kumar, also shared a video from Colombo and asserted that the morning weather is clear, with no rain to be seen.
Colombo weather forecast for September 17
The weather has not been kind in Colombo during the ongoing Asia Cup and there could be frustrating interruptions in the final as well. As per AccuWeather, conditions could be cloudy in the morning, with predictions for showers and a thunderstorm.
The afternoon weather forecast for Colombo is more worrisome. Apart from a threat of thunderstorm, the probability of precipitation is high at 90 percent, while the cloud cover is predicted to be 99 percent.
Thunderstorms have been forecast in the evening as well, with the probability of precipitation and cloud cover remaining as high as the prediction for the afternoon. During the night, the probability of precipitation is 90 and there is also a 54 percent probability of thunderstorms even as the cloud cover will remain high at 98 percent.
India and Sri Lanka’s road to Asia Cup 2023 final
The Men in Blue were the first team to qualify for the summit clash, winning two of their first three Super 4 matches. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, was involved in a virtual semi-final against Pakistan and emerged as the winners.
India opened their Super 4 campaign with an exceptional 228-run triumph over arch-rivals Pakistan in a match that went into the reserve day. The Men in Blue dominated proceedings with both bat and ball, registering their ODI biggest victory over Pakistan in terms of runs. Their batters faltered against 20-year-old left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage in the match against Sri Lanka, but bowlers lifted them to a 41-run win.
Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 21 runs in their opening Super 4 game, but after going down to India, they needed to defeat Pakistan to clinch a berth in the Asia Cup 2023 final. In a nail-biting finish, they prevailed by two wickets, chasing a DLS target of 252.