Rain wins the day after two balls of cricket

The outcome of a game showcasing four new players was decided by the rain.

On Thursday evening in Rawalpindi, there was only enough time to play two balls due to rain. This was reported by AFP/Getty Images.

The cricket match between New Zealand and Pakistan got canceled because of heavy rainfall. Therefore, the result was neither a win nor loss for both the teams.

The weather had the ultimate control over the first T20I between Pakistan and New Zealand. Throughout the day, the weather prediction was uncertain, with occasional rain causing a delay of 30 minutes in the toss. Just after the toss, which New Zealand won and chose to bat first, it began raining again, resulting in a long hiatus that almost led to the cancellation of the game without any balls being bowled.

After almost three hours of rain, there was a small spark of optimism. The rain stopped briefly, which gave the ground a chance to dry up a bit. This was enough to give the impression that a 5-overs-a-side match could take place, which is the shortest a T20 game can be. Shaheen Shah Afridi began the bowling and showed that he was in top form when he bowled an inswinger that hit Tim Robinson's middle stump on only the second ball. This was especially impressive as Robinson was a debutant.

Robinson was unlucky being among the four players that had their first match, while the Pakistani team gave T20I caps to three other players; Usman Khan, Irfan Khan and Abrar Ahmed.

On Saturday, the second T20I will take place in Rawalpindi as well.

Danyal Rasool works as a correspondent for ESPNcricinfo in Pakistan. His Twitter handle is @Danny61000.