Tri Series 2016, Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka: Match 4 called off after persistent rain

The 4^th match of the Tri-Nation Series between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe was called off after persistent rain prevented the match from going any further than 13.3 overs. The Bulawayo crowd was expecting some impressive display from the hosts after securing a thrilling tie against West Indies the other day.

Opting to bat, Zimbabwe lost Chamu Chibhabha early and was soon followed by Brian Chari who committed a suicidal run out. Just when Craig Ervine was getting into his groove, the umpires decided to get off the field as the rain got quite heavy by then. Though the rain stopped after a certain time, there were huge puddles all around the ground and it was impossible for the groundsmen to clear the water so quickly. At 15:05 local time, the umpires decided to call off the match.

Speaking about the washout, the onfield umpires Michael Gough and Langton Rusere said, “I have never seen rain as big as this in Bulawayo. At that point, we didn’t think it was that big. The ground has improved a lot, but specific areas on the ground are very, very wet. We thought it was unsafe for the players. I have never seen anything like that (talking about the rain that bucketed down earlier in the morning).

The washout still gives Zimbabwe an outside chance of qualifying for the final but they need to beat West Indies by a huge margin in the next encounter and hope West Indies loses to Sri Lanka. Else the calculation is pretty straightforward as Sri Lanka and West Indies will qualify for the final. Both the teams are currently tied on points.

The next encounter will be pretty interesting with West Indies facing Sri Lanka at Bulawayo on Wednesday. The weather forecast is pretty good for the day and we could be in for an entertaining match. A West Indies win will surely rule Zimbabwe out of the reckoning and the hosts will be glued to their television sets during the match.

With both West Indies and Sri Lanka having won their first encounter by bonus points, it becomes that much important for Zimbabwe to win their next encounter by a substantial margin.

Brief Scores:

Zimbabwe 55/2 in 13.3 overs (Match called off due to rain)