New Zealand are up against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in a do-or-die contest to stay afloat in the semi-final race: here are the weather updates for the NZ vs SL World Cup 2023 match including the latest rain prediction.

NZ v SL: Why the game is important

The World Cup 2023 has reached its business end, with three teams – India, South Africa and Australia – sealing the semi-final berths, meaning a straight shootout between New Zealand, Pakistan, and Afghanistan will decide the fourth entrant to the top four. However, the looming rain threat during the New Zealand-Sri Lanka clash might end up deciding not only the last semi-finalist but also the Champions Trophy 2025 participants.

New Zealand would wonder how a flying campaign that started with four wins on the trot got derailed with four successive defeats, even when they scored 383 and 401 in two of these losses to Australia and Pakistan. However, they still have matters in their own hands as a win against Sri Lanka should almost see them through, owing to their superior net run-rate of 0.398.

The only lurking danger is Pakistan, who are levelled with them on points (8), will play England on November 11, knowing what they need to triumph over the Blackcaps’ NRR. Although Afghanistan are still mathematically in the race with four victories in their eight outings, same as New Zealand and Pakistan, they are likely to fall short because of the worst NRR of -0.338.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will look to salvage some pride in this match after their knockout hopes ended against Bangladesh. A Champions Trophy berth is also on the line for the island nation.

World Cup 2023, NZ vs SL: What is the rain forecast during the game?

AccuWeather predicts November 9 to be “Mostly cloudy with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm, mainly later”. There’s a 90 per cent probability of precipitation throughout the day, up from the 94 that was predicted a few days ago. Storms are expected to continue till 5 pm IST, though there was no rain before the start of play and the toss went ahead as expected at 1.30 pm IST.

BBC Weather’s rain predictor ranges from 80 to 14 per cent during match hours on November 9, with temperatures hovering between 22 and 26 degrees Celsius.

Weather.com has predicted afternoon thunderstorms on match day (November 9) with an 80 per cent probability of rain during the day, which gets better in the evening.

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