As rain showers have interrupted the Pakistan vs New Zealand match at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on February 21 (Saturday), the next biggest thing to know is will the match take place eventually or not? The answer to this question is not very simple as it is a yes and a no both.
While the match duration has started to shorten already with the cut-off time for a full 40-overs game being 8:10 pm local time, which is the same as the Indian Standard Time. There are chances that the entire game might be washed out, with no shortened game in play either.
What is the shortest game that could be played in T20 international?
To constitute a game in T20Is, both the teams must play five overs each, according to the cricket rules set by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The International Cricket Council follows the rules of the MCC. Thus, for this PAK vs NZ match to have a result, it must fulfill the five-over criterion.
What is the cut-off time for start of the PAK vs NZ, T20 World Cup match?
According to the ICC playing conditions for the T20 World Cup 2026, which are set in place ahead of the start of every tournament, the cut-off time for a five-over game at the Super 8 stages is 10:16 pm IST. Thus, at the time of writing this copy, the Pakistan vs New Zealand game had one and a half hours to begin.
What happened at the toss during PAK vs NZ game?
Earlier, the toss between New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Ali Agha was won by the latter at 6:30 pm IST. He decided to bat first.