T20 World Cup 2026, Match 41: Incessant rain washes out Pakistan-New Zealand Super Eight clash

The Super Eight stage of T20 World Cup 2026 started on a damp note as the opening encounter between Pakistan and New Zealand was washed out without a ball being bowled at Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium on February 21.

The match officials waited for more than two hours for the weather to clear, but the rain did not relent, with the entire playing area remaining covered. Unlike other international venues that only cover the pitch, stadiums in Sri Lanka, including the Premadasa, follow the practice of covering the entire playing area, which prevents the outfield from soaking up water.

Additionally, the drainage at Premadasa Stadium is quite sophisticated, and the venue has special protocols to handle Colombo's downpours. However, with no improvement in the situation, match referee Richie Richardson took the inevitable call at 21:07 local time.

The drizzle began at the toss, which Pakistan won and opted to bat. Colombo saw plenty of rain in the lead-up to the match, cancelling Pakistan's training session on Friday. The forecast on matchday was not clear, and as fate would have it, the weather indeed had the final say, with both teams splitting one point each to get off the mark.

"We are going to bat first. We have one change. Fakhar [Zaman] is playing and [Khawaja] Nafay is not playing. We have one pacer, Faheem Ashraf - he is a good all-rounder. So, we have two pacers and lot of spin options. They [New Zealand] are a quality side, we know that. We have to play our A-game and that is what we look forward to today," Pakistan captain Salman Agha said at the toss.

New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner had announced three changes, including pacer Lockie Ferguson, who was granted paternity leave before the match against Canada.

"We have three changes. We have gone with an extra spinner Ish Sodhi instead of Kyle Jamieson. Lockie [Ferguson] is back for [Jacob] Duffy. Could be a little bit different here (compared to the conditions in Chennai), but we have seen a lot of the games throughout the tournament here and we know the challenge they possess. Should be entertaining, they got some good spinners," Santner said.

Pakistan will face England on February 24 and Sri Lanka on February 28 in Pallekele, while New Zealand take on Sri Lanka on February 25 and England on February 27 in Colombo.