🔗 Share this article Rain Spares England and Spoils Pakistan Hopes of Historic Win The Pakistani team was inches away from their first one-day international win facing the English team in Colombo midweek, reaching an unbeaten 34 going after a DLS-adjusted target of 113 before torrential downpours halted their aspirations to achieve a milestone. England's Batting Collapse England’s batting has faltered from one disaster to another throughout this World Cup – they had to be bailed out thanks to Heather Knight facing Bangladesh and Nat Sciver-Brunt's performance versus Sri Lanka – in this match it appeared that their vulnerabilities would plague them again, as their innings fell apart to 79 for seven within the initial 25 overs. Rain Delays and Recovery Following an early weather interruption for about four hours, The English side resumed to add 54 further runs – but Pakistan’s openers the duo of Ali and Sohail seemed to be handling easily the pursuit, assisted by the non-participation of the English team's primary attackers the pair of Bell and Ecclestone through illness. Only additional rainfall spared England embarrassment. “Pakistan bowled brilliantly and created significant difficulties for us to gain any momentum in the game,” the England captain Sciver-Brunt told Sky Sports. "Our performance was insufficient and we accept responsibility. All players are training excellently and it seems we need discovering a method to do that in games.” Championship Ramifications The no-result indicates that The English team continues their path to progress to the semi-finals if they manage to win one of their final three preliminary games against India, Australia and New Zealand. Pitch Conditions and Bowling Dominance This championship has thus far been ideal for spin bowlers, however in this match there was substantial movement which caused problems to the England top order, following heavy rain a day before which washed out the second half of the Sri Lankan contest against New Zealand. Pakistan’s young captain Captain Sana bowled a remarkable spell with figures of 5-1-19-3, featuring a maiden over with a wicket initially, dismissing Amy Jones between bat and pad via an inward-moving ball. Crucial Instances and Review System The English batter again rescued herself using a prompt Decision Review System appeal versus Sana that was going past leg stump, but then the Pakistani skipper to take two wickets in the next over with two further hooping deliveries – including one that Sciver-Brunt edged onto her wickets, and a second which trapped Knight directly in front. Earlier, Tammy Beaumont had shouldered arms against Diana Baig and was bowled by a delivery that came back which clipped the top of her wicket, whereas it was the spin from the left side from Sadia Iqbal that accounted for Dunkley and Lamb. Tournament Scheduling Questions Concerns could surface about the decision to stage half of the World Cup in the Colombo venue throughout the rainy season, given that this is the third abandonment on this pitch – yet the English team will just feel relieved as they move on toward their next match in Indore.