'The rain has saved us': Shoaib Akhtar on Ind vs Pak clash in Asia Cup

Shoaib Akhtar reacted to heavy rain on Sunday resulting in the highly anticipated match between India and Pakistan in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup being postponed to a reserve day.

New Delhi: Erstwhile Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar expressed his thoughts on the Indo-Pak clash of the Super Four match of the Asia Cup 2023 in Colombo on Sunday after the play was called off. The 48-year-old Shoaib Akhtar, known as Rawalpindi Express, stated that the rain saved the men in green.

Akhtar posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, stating, "Rain has saved us finally, the rain came to save India last time; today, we were in danger, and rain came to save us."

Akhtar also praised the Indian batters, Rohit Sharma (56 runs) and Shubman Gill (58 runs) for providing a rock-solid century stand (121 runs) for India. He also mentioned that India got lucky in the group stage match and this time it favoured Pakistan, where rain played a very important part.

India was at 147-2 in 24.1 overs with Virat Kohli (8*) and KL Rahul (17*), on the crease when rain interrupted the match. However, the inclement weather forced the players to retreat from the field, and the rain intensified shortly afterwards.

Earlier, Indian captain Rohit Sharma and his opening partner Shubman Gill set a formidable partnership before Pakistan duo Vice-captain Shadab Khan and Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi sent them back to the pavilion, respectively.

Asian Cricket Council (ACC) included a last-minute reserve day only for this match, as a previous group-stage encounter between India and Pakistan was washed out because of persistent rain in Pallekele.