KARACHI: Just 18.3 overs of play was possible on day four of the Brighto Paints presents Cool & Cool National T20 Cup at the Pindi Cricket Stadium as torrential rains in Rawalpindi spoiled the two scheduled fixtures.

Just as Rawalpindi were dismissed for 116 in the 19th over of Tuesday’s first game, the rain started falling as the players along with umpires Shozab Raza and Aslam Bareach came off for the innings break, giving Peshawar no chance at all to have a tilt at the modest target.

As time ticked by, the rain got progressively heavier to completely wipe out the late afternoon clash between Islamabad and Fata. Umpires Ahsan Raza and Mohammad Asif, as per playing rules, waited until 5:20pm before officially abandoning the match without a ball being delivered.

Thus, all four teams secured one point each, leaving Faisalabad topping the standings with maximum four points from their two victories. Fata and Islamabad both have three points, followed by Lahore Whites and Lahore Blues with two apiece while Rawalpindi and Peshawar have one point each so far.

But to the surprise of many, Karachi Whites — who are led by Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed and are tipped as one of the favourites this time — have yet to get off the mark after losing their first two fixtures against Faisalabad and Lahore Whites, respectively.

Pakistan Cricket Board’s public relation officer Shakeel Khan who is acting is as the media coordinator for the ongoing tournament, when contacted by Dawn, said since more rain is expected in the next 24 hours, it is highly unlikely that the matches scheduled for Wednesday would start.

“At this point in time, it’s hard to imagine that a match is possible given the amount of rain that we have seen in Rawalpindi from around 2:00pm today. The forecast for Wednesday isn’t encouraging from cricket’s point of view,” Shakeel said from Rawalpindi. “At least the first game [between Lahore Whites and Faisalabad] is in danger of being called off. And even if the rain relents, the prospects of the other match [involving Karachi Whites and Lahore Blues] starting is not that great either in damp and cold conditions at this time of the year.”

Tuesday’s results:

RAWALPINDI 116 in 18.3 overs (Mohammad Irfan Jr 30, Fawad Alam 28, Shadab Khan 21 not out, Sohail Tanvir 20; Sohail Khan 4-22, Mohammad Imran Khan 2-12, Kashif Bhatti 2-26) vs PESHAWAR — no result.

ISLAMABAD vs FATA — match abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Wednesday’s fixtures: Lahore Whites vs Faisalabad (12:00noon); Karachi Whites vs Lahore Blues (4:00pm).

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2017