India-Bangladesh weather forecast: Will rain disrupt India’s final preparation? | cricket

India were the first to qualify for the 2023 Asia Cup final when they beat Sri Lanka in the Super 4 stage on Tuesday. Incidentally, India will face the island nation in the final as well, with Dasun Shanaka’s men registering a thrilling win in a rain-hit must-win encounter against Pakistan on Thursday night. Ahead of the final, India faces another test when they take on a Bangladesh team that has already been eliminated in the final match of the Super 4.

Bangladesh was the first team to exit the second round, as it faced successive losses to Pakistan and Sri Lanka last week. However, Shakib Al Hasan’s men are aiming to finish the season on a high and will take inspiration from their performance against India in the home ODI series last year when they defeated the Rohit Sharma-led side 2-1.

Throughout the Asia Cup, the unpredictable weather in Colombo has been a major cause for concern. Initially, there were discussions within the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) about moving the Super 4 matches to Hambantota, but in the end, the decision was made to stick to the original schedule.

As for the upcoming match between India and Bangladesh, the weather forecast presents a challenge looming once again, with a 65 percent chance of rain expected. Thunderstorms are expected in the morning and afternoon, with cloud cover expected to reach 90 percent. This raises concerns about the possibility of the match being interrupted due to bad weather conditions. Barring India’s recent match against Sri Lanka, all their matches were affected by rain in the ongoing Asia Cup.

The weather also disrupted proceedings in Thursday’s Super 4 match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka as well. While the toss was delayed by more than two hours with the match reduced to 45 overs per side, the overs were reduced to 42 after another break during Pakistan’s first innings.

Will India rest the players?

With the team already reaching the final, the team management may be tempted to rest a few of their players to keep them ready for the title match on September 17. India have played two ODIs over three consecutive days (one of them being a reserve day), and the fatigue factor can be taken into account when deciding on the playing XI for Friday’s match against Bangladesh.