New Zealand Women vs Pakistan Women, 19th Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

21:07 Local Time, 15:37 GMT, 21:07 IST: Right then, the rain has the final say once again. Yet another fixture in this tournament falls victim to the weather. Colombo has truly played spoilsport this Women's World Cup. SA with this become the second team to qualify for the semis. The day began with bright skies and plenty of optimism, but as the day wore on, so did the clouds and the disappointment. With the match abandoned, both teams walk away with a point apiece. Pakistan’s semifinal hopes are hanging by a thread - all but over, while New Zealand’s path to the knockouts isn’t looking too bright either. Tomorrow, the action shifts to Indore in India, where England Women will lock horns with India Women. The weather forecast looks far more promising this time around and fans will be hoping for a full game of cricket. Both those teams will be eager to get back on the field and make their mark as the tournament moves into a crucial phase. For now, goodbye from Cricbuzz towers!

Fatima Sana: We got a good start in the powerplay, but we lost a few wickets. We believed that if we could have made around 180, our bowlers could have restricted them. We all have good belief in our bowling side - they’ve been performing really well. But yeah, hopefully next time. I think the pitch was good for bowlers, and the way our bowlers performed was awesome. We have strong belief in our bowling attack, so hopefully, in the next matches, we’ll get a good chance to show that again. I think, as a bowling unit, everyone is happy. But definitely, we need to improve on the batting side. We still have two matches left, and we’ll try to play good cricket in those games. When I came here, everyone told me it’s a spin track. But when I bowled, I actually got a lot of seam movement and a good seaming surface. So I just tried to enjoy the pitch, and I got wickets in the powerplay as well. I really enjoyed bowling here. We’ll try to win those matches and end our tournament on a high note. It (captaincy) is tough, because we haven’t been winning many matches, but the girls are supporting me really well. I’ve enjoyed my bowling and also my captaincy.

Sophie Devine: 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. So, yeah, look, you must feel we were in a decent position today, you just needed the rain to hold off, and unfortunately, it didn’t happen today. 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 or 11 a.m. and actually get a game in. 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. 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. But 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. 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. 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. 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.

20:58 Local Time, 15:28 GMT, 20:58 IST: The NZ players, a few of them, walking alongside the ropes with the umbrellas hoisted. Don't think now there is enough time left for the game to resume. We are very short on time now. The cut-off time was close to 9:40PM local. Both teams wanted two points from this game but it seems they will have settle for one each. We shall still wait for the final confirmation. Five Pakistan players are carrying one huge umbrella and are walking towards the pavilion. The rain seems to have picked up pace and there is a strong wind blowing across as well.

20:30 Local Time, 15:00 GMT, 20:30 IST: The entire ground is covered now. Few groundsmen towards one of the squares are tugging the covers to and fro to scatter the water out of the playing area I guess. Now, we don't have too many personnel on the ground. Only the blue sheets and the little puddle of water remains. If it rains for more than 30 minutes, this game's fate might be sealed.

20:17 Local Time, 14:47 GMT, 20:17 IST: The groundsmen had a look and are bringing in more covers. Trying to cover the entire ground now. Either, the rain has picked up or they are expecting more rain.

20:02 Local Time, 14:32 GMT, 20:02 IST: The drizzle continues to come down but the entire ground hasn't been covered. The cut off time would be close to 9:40PM local. And needless to say, we will continue losing overs. One groundsman followed by a couple more have entered the ground with an umbrella hoisted up. So, it does tell us that the rain is still coming down.

19:41 Local Time, 14:11 GMT, 19:41 IST: And the centre covers are back on. The frustration continues. The resumption will be delayed. The rain is back. More covers are being brought on. The entire ground is not covered as the intensity of the rain is not much.

19:32 Local Time, 14:02 GMT, 19:32 IST: 36 overs a side contest. 10 minute break between innings. One bowler can bowl a maximum of 8 overs. Almost all the covers have been peeled off. The action will resume at 19:52 PM local. Whatever Pakistan get from here, the target for the NZ side will be DLS adjusted.

19:13 Local Time, 13:43 GMT, 19:13 IST: Nothing new to update. The groundsmen are nowhere to be seen which means the drizzle is very consistent. Almost an hour has been lost since this last rain break. Pakistan and NZ would be itching to get back but that will have to wait. Hang on, the covers are coming off! Woah. Has happened all of a sudden. They are starting with the centre covers.

18:47 Local Time, 13:17 GMT, 18:47 IST: The rain is still coming down. We stand to lose more overs but then the innings interval was still 30 minutes when the game was reduced to 46 overs a side. So, few more minutes will be made up. But for sure we will lose overs whenever we resume.

18:17 Local Time, 12:47 GMT, 18:17 IST: The blue sheets make their way in. Rain has stopped play. NZ were trying to get some momentum. And picked up a couple of wickets after the rain break. Pakistan also were looking to rebuild but they have to go off. We already have had three no results here at Colombo but we are hopeful we will get a game today. We will continue losing overs. The groundsmen sense there is more rain coming in and are looking to cover the entire ground.