Zimbabwe vs Ireland, Pallekele Weather: Rain wins in Kandy as Zimbabwe enter Super 8, Australia take exit route

Here's the updated points table in group B. Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe qualify for the Super 8 while Ireland, Australia and Oman stand eliminated.

That's it. Rain wins in Pallekele and the match has been abandoned. Both Zimbabwe and Ireland have shared spoils. Zimbabwe are through to the Super 8 and join India, West Indies and South Africa.

At 5 PM IST, live visuals show that the ground remains completely covered and the groundstaff are still tying to remove the excess water on the sheets. Things are not heading towards a right direction. The match officials and the head curator are chatting under an umbrella, that means the drizzle has not stopped completely.

Zimbabwe are set to take Australia's place in Group 1 of the Super 8. That means, if that's the case, Zimbabwe will join South Africa, India and West Indies. Zimbabwe will face India on February 26 in Chennai.

Not just the Super 8 qulification, but a lot more awaits Zimbabwe. A Super 8 qualification also gurantees a team a spot in the next edition of the T20 World Cup in 2028. For example USA. The American team made it to the Super 8 stage in the 2024 edition and booked a place in this edition.

As the situation stands, the rain is not stopping at all in Kandy and we are heading for a possible washout. That means, Zimbabwe are through to the Super 8, with Australia packing their bags.

Looks like the groundstaff are on their work. They are removing the excess water from the covers . Its a long process and will take some time. We should be getting an update soon on the playing conditions. But its still drizzling in Kandy. 6:10 PM local time is the cur-ff time for a five-over game.

The last time Australia exited a T20 World Cup in the group stages was back in 2009 in England, losing to Sri Lanka and West Indies.

Some good news for everyone. According to Cricket Ireland, it has stopped raining in Kandy, and covers are coming off.

Australia have been plagued by injuries before the start of the tournament. The 2021 champions lost Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood before they flew to Sri Lanka. To add more to the misery, captain Mitchell Marsh suffered an injury during training, resulting in testicular bleeding that left him out of the first two games. Travis Head led the side in the first two games.

Marsh did return to the playing XI against Sri Lanka with a fifty, but Australia's hopes were further dashed by a Pathum Nissanka hundred at the same venue a night back.

Everybody is speaking about Australia and Zimbabwe, but no one is talking about Ireland. Can the Irishmen go through? Ireland will need to win big against Zimbabwe and hope Oman beat Australia by a huge margin. Meanwhile, there is nothing new in Kandy as it is still raining in Pallekele. The groundstaff who once came out to clear everything, has moved back indoors. We will start losing overs now.

The Ireland vs Zimbabwe clash is just one hour away before losing overs. Most importantly, the covers need go off first, and the groundstaff need to work hard to make the conditions fit to play. The umpires are yet to come out for an inspection

Only two teams are left to qualify for the Super 8s. So far, India, West Indies, South Africa, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka qualified to the Super 8 stage. One among Pakistan and USA will qualify from Group A. The final spot will be taken either by Zimbabwe or Australia. For Pakistan to qualify, they need to beat Namibia tomorrow. On the other hand, Zimbabwe need just a point to knock Australia out of the Super 8 race.

The rain has stopped in Kandy. The visibility isn't good either as the hills behind can be barely seen in the background. Meanwhile, the groundstaff are down on the field to get the water out safely. The players of both Zimbabwe and Ireland are looking on the ground, waiting for the game to start.

Pallekele international cricket stadium weather: The forecast in Pallekele aren't promising. The temperature likely to hover around the 20-26 degrees celsius and there are showers predicted during the match. The humidity will exceed 75 per cent.

The toss has been delayed in Kandy due to wet outfield.

In case there is a washout, both Zimbabwe and Ireland will share one point each. That means, Zimbabwe will reach to 5 points with a match to play and it will be enough for them to book a place into the Super 8. Even if Australia win their last match, they would reach only four points, thus missing out on a Super 8 spot.

However, things aren't looking great in Kandy. It's the last match of the group stage at this venue and been raining for most of the day. The whole ground has been covered.

For Ireland, they have been hit by injury to their captain Paul Stirling. After winning the T20I series against Italy, Ireland lost to Sri Lanka and Australia, with their only win coming against Oman.

Zimbabwe have been great throughout the tournament so far with two wins in two games. In included an upset win over Australia. If Zimbabwe can beat Ireland today, it would mean Australia are out of the tournament in the group stage itself.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of Ireland vs Zimbabwe clash in Pallekele.