The ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 match between New Zealand and Pakistan at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo was abandoned due to persistent rain at the venue, which did not even permit the completion of the first innings.
Pakistan, who were put into bat by White Ferns skipper Sophie Devine, were 92/5 in 25 overs when rain stopped play for the second time in the match. Play did not resume after 6:17 p.m. local time, and the match was eventually called off.
The result also meant South Africa became the second team after Australia to qualify for the semi-finals.
Play was initially scheduled to restart at 7:52 p.m. local time with the overs further to 36 overs per side but another downpour before resumption further delayed the start, eventually leading to the abandonment. This was the fourth match abandoned due to rain at the venue.
“I hope you were watching that South Africa game the other night, where they were off for five hours and still managed to squeak in a game. You must feel we were in a decent position today, just needed the rain to hold off, and unfortunately, it didn’t happen today,” Devine told the broadcaster after the match.
“It’s extremely frustrating. You wait four years for a World Cup, and to have rain play such a massive part in it, it is disappointing. I think, hopefully, in future editions, they might consider starting games earlier in the day. We’ve obviously seen here that the rain usually comes in the afternoon, so there’s a real opportunity to play these matches at 10:00 or 11:00 am and actually get a game in,” she added.
Devine said teams want to compete against the best in the world and do not want to see their matches washed out like this.
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“Because that’s what — all the teams want to play cricket. You’ve waited so long to be here, you want to test yourself against the best, and to be scuppered by rain is a real shame for me,” she said.
“It’s pretty flat. We really wanted to play today. We were up and about for this match, and we just wanted to be out there playing cricket,” Devine said about the New Zealand dressing room.
However, the New Zealand skipper said her team is clear about their task in hand — to win the remaining matches in order to be in the hunt for one of the two remaining places left for the semifinals.
“Now, the situation is extremely clear, we just need to win both games, starting with India in Mumbai. It’s a big challenge, but we’re really excited about it. I know the girls don’t need any extra motivation to take them on,” she said.
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“We’ll head back to India tomorrow and look forward to those challenges. We were so focused on these games here in Colombo, we wanted to give them our full focus. But luckily, we’ve got a few days now before the next game against India, so we’ll prepare really well.” New Zealand will take on India at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium on Thursday.
“We’ve had some good experiences against them recently, including in the World Cup last year, and we’ll draw on those. But we also know they’re huge favourites, playing at home, in conditions that suit them, with threats throughout the lineup,” Devine said.
“But again, this is what you want, to play against the best teams in their own backyard and put yourself under pressure. We’re really looking forward to that challenge,” she added.
The first rain interruption in play came at 3:58 p.m. local time, with Pakistan 52/3 in 12.3 overs. The match was reduced to 46 overs per side when play eventually restarted at 5:35 p.m. local time.
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South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt-led side are currently second on the points table, with eight points in five matches and a net run rate of -0.440.
