Day four of the ongoing Rawalpindi Test might see very little play taking place, with the region expected to receive heavy rain on Thursday. With the rain expected to begin in the afternoon, the morning session might go unaffected, though under overcast conditions.
Some weather channels forecast a 92% chance of rain in the afternoon, with thick clouds keeping the sky covered throughout the day.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka trade periods of dominance
The ongoing Test has seen both teams taking turns in ascendancy, with Sri Lanka currently ahead. Pakistan began the Test by building early dominance with a commanding opening stand between Tayyab Arif and Azan Awais. The incoming batters after the openers’ dismissals kept making Sri Lanka toil hard for any success. In total, Pakistan scored 434/9 before declaring the innings on day two.
The hosts then went on to end the day by dismissing three Sri Lankan batters, worsening their woes. However, the visitors struck back on day three, when Pakistan found little to no success. After dismissing Kamindu Mendis shortly after his fifty, the host bowlers failed to take any more wickets throughout the day. Sri Lankan batters, including Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva, batted for the remainder of the day to put the side ahead. By the time play ended for the day, Sri Lanka were just 30 runs short of Pakistan’s total, which once looked insurmountable.
Both teams already out of WTC final contention
Pakistan are currently at the bottom of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, the same place they finished the previous cycle. They have two home series left to play in this WTC edition, where their pressing aim would be to not end up as wooden spooners for the second year running.
Like Pakistan, Sri Lanka are also out of contention for the WTC final, currently occupying the seventh spot. They would, however, like some success on their all-format tour of Pakistan after losing the T20I and ODI legs of the tour.
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