'Barish ne bacha liya' - Shoaib Akhtar blasts Babar Azam, credits rain for Pakistan's escape during Ind - Pak Asia Cup match

Legendary Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar stated that rain prevented Pakistan from handing plenty of runs against India in the Super 4 clash of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 in Colombo on Sunday, September 10. Notably, the game was halted due to rain and the action is set to resume on Monday, which is a reserve day.

Babar Azam's choice to bowl first after winning the toss did not sit well with the former cricketer. Notably, Babar's decision backfired as Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma stitched a 121-run opening stand, which helped the Indian team get off to the best possible start in the game. The Indian skipper was dismissed at 56, while Gill was sent back to the pavilion shortly after scoring 58 runs.

Akhtar, who travelled to Colombo to watch the high-pressure India-Pakistan match, took to his X account and shared a video of himself as he took a sly dig at Babar about the ‘wise decision.' He was looking forward to the game on the reserve day and hoping Pakistan would do better.

Watch the video:

Well. I don't see this starting again. Colombo ki baarish is crazy pic.twitter.com/KiY8Mbzl77

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) September 10, 2023

“Well. I don’t see this starting again. Colombo ki baarish is crazy,"  the 48-year-old captioned tha post.“Hey guys, it’s me Shoaib, match dekhne aaya tha, hum sare fans bhi wait kar rahe hai, Indians bhi Pakistani bhi. Lekin barish ne bacha liya humein, finally! Pehle India phass gya tha humare aagey, barish ne bacha lia. Aaj hum phas gaye the India ke samne, shukr hai barish ne bach lia. (I came to watch the match, we are all waiting, Indian and Pakistani fans. Rain saved us, rain saved India the other day, but today rain saved us!). Hope match can finish off and we’ll be able to resume this time tomorrow, and by making a wise decision not to bowl first,” Akhtar was heard saying in the video.

India reached a total of 147/2 after 24.1 overs when rain delayed the action with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul at the crease. Rain is expected to interrupt the game again on Monday, and if it is called off, both teams will be awarded one point each.