{"id":120698,"date":"2026-02-15T14:04:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T09:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=120698"},"modified":"2026-02-15T14:04:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T09:04:29","slug":"chances-of-pakistan-india-world-cup-clash-increase-as-rain-prospects-decrease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/120698\/","title":{"rendered":"Chances of Pakistan-India World Cup clash increase as rain prospects decrease"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Colombo(National times)- Chances of one of the most awaited clashes of the T20 World Cup 2026 \u2013 Pakistan vs India \u2013 become bright as prospects of rain in the evening dwindle. According to AccuWeather website, the chances of rain in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, which is hosting the clash of titans, fall to 13 percent in the evening. However, the sky will remain overcast with wind at 24 km\/h and humidity at 68 percent. The Sri Lanka\u2019s Meteorological Department, also forecast that the skies will remain cloudy, but there is no likelihood of heavy rainfall during the match hours.Earlier, the Meteorological Department had forecast an 80 percent chance of rain in Colombo, with intermittent showers likely during the match. The match will begin at 6:30 pm according to Pakistan Standard Time at the Premadasa Stadium. Meanwhile, the Pakistani team held intensive training sessions in the stadium as part of preparations for the big clash. The Indian team also had a training session in Colombo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SKIPPER SALMAN HAS A PLAN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Saturday, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha had mentioned during a press conference that the team has a plan in place if the match is affected by rain. \u201cWe are ready; we just need to play good cricket. We are well adapted to the conditions here and are aware of the nature of the pitch. We can\u2019t control the rain, but if the overs are reduced due to rain, we have a plan for that as well,\u201d the skipper added. Salman described spinner Usman Tariq as a \u201ctrump card.\u201d \u201cAll players are equal. You people have made Usman Tariq what he is; for us, he is a trump card.\u201d He added that there has been ongoing discussion about Usman\u2019s bowling action. \u201cUsman has been cleared twice. I don\u2019t know why there is still talk about his action. But none of this affects us. You can\u2019t stop anyone from expressing their opinion \u2014 everyone has that right.\u201d Regarding team selection, the captain said all 15 players in the squad are important to him, and anyone can be selected. \u201cWe will decide our playing XI after assessing the conditions. Babar Azam is scoring runs; it\u2019s not a concern for us. Hopefully, Babar Azam will score runs [against India] as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dunyanews.tv\/en\/Cricket\/935378-boycott-averted-india-and-pakistan-set-for-world-cup-blockbuster\"><strong>Boycott averted, India and Pakistan set for World Cup blockbuster<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Salman also acknowledged that Pakistan\u2019s record against India in World Cups has not been very good. \u201cBut we have learned from history and will try to play positive cricket. We have planned for India\u2019s entire playing XI.\u201d Responding to a question about India\u2019s aggressive batter Abhishek Sharma, he said: \u201cI hope Abhishek is recovering well and will be available for his team. When you are captain, it comes with extra responsibility and pressure. When you represent your country, all eyes are on you. We have to play good cricket on the field.\u201d The emotions in the Sri Lankan capital, in the meantime, are high as fans, local and foreign, are eagerly awaiting the high-voltage match between arch rivals. All tickets for the match have been sold out, hotels are fully booked, rooms are scarce, and rents have gone sky high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dunyanews.tv\/en\/Cricket\/935376-india-and-pakistan-cricket-fans-flock-to-colombo-windfall-for-tourism\"><strong>India and Pakistan cricket fans flock to Colombo, windfall for tourism<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prices of flights and hotel bookings to Colombo, Sri Lanka, have soared as thousands of fans flock to the city to watch India play Pakistan on Sunday in cricket&#8217;s Twenty20 World Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Colombo(National times)- Chances of one of the most awaited clashes of the T20 World Cup 2026 \u2013 Pakistan vs India \u2013 become bright as prospects of rain in the evening dwindle. According to AccuWeather website, the chances of rain in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, which is hosting the clash of titans, fall to 13 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chances of Pakistan-India World Cup clash increase as rain prospects decrease - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/120698\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chances of Pakistan-India World Cup clash increase as rain prospects decrease - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Colombo(National times)- Chances of one of the most awaited clashes of the T20 World Cup 2026 \u2013 Pakistan vs India \u2013 become bright as prospects of rain in the evening dwindle. 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