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Pakistan came agonisingly close to their first one-day international success against England on the Colombo pitch midweek, arriving at 34 without loss in pursuit of a DLS-adjusted target of 113 prior to torrential downpours halted their aspirations of making history.

England's Batting Woes

England's offensive play has stumbled from crisis to crisis throughout this World Cup – they had to be bailed out through Heather Knight's efforts against Bangladesh and Nat Sciver-Brunt's performance when playing Sri Lanka – on this occasion it looked like their frailties would return to haunt them, as their innings fell apart to 79 runs with seven wickets down during the first 25 overs.

Showers and Resumption

Postponed first by rain of almost four hours, England returned to add 54 further runs – yet the Pakistani openers the duo of Ali and Sohail looked to be making short work of the chase, aided by the absence of England's main bowlers Lauren Bell and Sophie Ecclestone due to sickness. Only additional rainfall spared England embarrassment.

"The Pakistani bowlers performed superbly and posed serious challenges for us to get into the game at all,” England's leader Nat Sciver-Brunt told Sky Sports. “We weren’t good enough and we accept responsibility. Everyone’s practising really well and it seems we need discovering a method to perform similarly during games.”

Tournament Implications

The washed-out game means that England remain on course to progress to the semi-finals as long as they win one out of their remaining three group matches versus India, Australia and New Zealand.

Ground State and Bowling Performance

This championship has so far been ideal for spin bowlers, but here it was significant swing which caused problems for England's top batsmen, after massive rainfall the previous day that abandoned the latter part of Sri Lanka’s match with New Zealand. The youthful Pakistani skipper Fatima Sana bowled a remarkable spell with figures of 5-1-19-3, including a wicket maiden first up, bowling Amy Jones between bat and pad using an inswinging delivery.

Pivotal Events and Decision Review

Heather Knight once again saved herself using a prompt Decision Review System appeal facing Sana which was missing leg stump, only for the Pakistan captain to strike twice in the following over with two more swinging balls – the first of which Nat Sciver-Brunt chopped on to her stumps, and a second which struck Knight plumb in front.

Previously, Tammy Beaumont had shouldered arms facing Diana Baig and got bowled via an inward-moving ball that grazed the top of her off-stump, and it was the left-arm spin of Sadia Iqbal that dismissed both Dunkley and Lamb.

Event Planning Issues

Questions may be raised concerning the determination to host part of the World Cup in Colombo during monsoon season, since this represents the third canceled match at the ground – yet the English team will just feel relieved while they advance to the Indore venue.