NZ v PAK: Rain makes multiple appearances

Rain made a couple of interruptions in Bengaluru, both during Pakistan’s chase.

Stoppage 2: The second break came with Pakistan on 200-1 after 25.4 overs. At 6.50pm IST, the update from the ground is that the rain is heavy and steady. With 7.40pm the cutoff time, it seems to be the game for Pakistan, who are 21 runs ahead as per DLS calculations.

Stoppage 1: Chasing 402 to stay alive in the tournament, Pakistan made a rousing start, reaching 160-1 after 21.3 overs. The first interruption lasted for about 90 minutes.

NZ v PAK: Why the game is important

Pakistan are back in contention for the semi-final race after New Zealand slumped to their third straight loss to South Africa. Although a win should be enough for New Zealand to enter the top four owing to their healthy net run-rate (NRR) of 0.484, Pakistan have every chance to edge past them with a big victory in Bengaluru to better their NRR of -0.024.

They need to win by a margin of either 84 runs or gun down any target with 15 overs to spare to climb to the fourth spot on the points table.

Afghanistan, sitting in sixth place, could challenge the advancements of both teams considering they have played a match fewer than their rivals and are levelled with Pakistan on match points (6). They have a realistic chance of making the semi-finals with matches against Netherlands, Australia and South Africa remaining.

However, the weather for the New Zealand-Pakistan match doesn’t look promising as rain is likely to intervene at some point.

World Cup 2023, NZ vs PAK: What was the rain forecast before the game?

The following data is from November 3:

AccuWeatherpredicts November 4 to be “mostly cloudy with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm in the afternoon”. There’s a 68 per cent probability of precipitation through the day, which reduces to 25 per cent at night according to AccuWeather.

BBC Weather’srain predictor ranges from 50 per cent to 37 per cent during match hours on November 4, with temperatures supposed to range between 22 and 28 degrees Celsius.

Weather.comhas predicted afternoon thunderstorms on match day (November 4) with a 93 per cent probability of rain during the day, which reduces to 70 per cent at night.