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Pakistan narrowly missed out on their inaugural ODI success versus the English side in Colombo on Wednesday, arriving at 34 runs without losing a wicket going after a DLS-adjusted target of 113 before torrential downpours curtailed their aspirations of making history.

England's Batting Collapse

England's offensive play has faltered from one disaster to another in this tournament – they needed rescuing through Heather Knight's efforts versus Bangladesh and Nat Sciver-Brunt's performance versus Sri Lanka – and here it seemed as if their frailties would come back to trouble them, as they collapsed to a precarious 79/7 in the opening 25 overs.

Rain Delays and Recovery

After an initial rain delay for about four hours, England returned to add 54 further runs – however, Pakistan's opening pair the duo of Ali and Sohail seemed to be handling easily of the chase, aided by the non-participation of England's main bowlers Bell and Ecclestone due to sickness. Only further rain saved England’s blushes.

“Pakistan bowled brilliantly and created significant difficulties for us to establish ourselves in the match,” the England captain the captain stated to Sky Sports. "We didn't meet the standard and we accept responsibility. Everyone’s practising really well and perhaps it's a matter of finding a way to transfer that to matches.”

Tournament Implications

The washed-out game signifies that England stay on track to reach the knockout stage provided they secure victory any of their last three group matches versus India, Australia and New Zealand.

Pitch Conditions and Bowling Dominance

This championship has up to now been ideal for spin bowlers, but here it was significant swing which caused problems against the English opening lineup, after massive rainfall 24 hours earlier which washed out the second half of the Sri Lankan contest with New Zealand. Pakistan's emerging leader Fatima Sana bowled a remarkable spell with figures of 5-1-19-3, including a wicket maiden initially, dismissing Amy Jones through the gate using an inswinging delivery.

Crucial Instances and Review System

Knight again rescued herself through a well-timed DRS review against Sana that would have missed the leg stump, only for the Pakistan captain to strike twice in the next over with two further hooping deliveries – including one that the captain deflected onto her wickets, and a subsequent delivery that hit Knight right in front.

Before this, The English opener had left the ball to Diana Baig and was bowled by a nip-backer that grazed the top of her off-stump, while it was the left-arm spin by Sadia Iqbal which did for both Dunkley and Lamb.

Event Planning Issues

Doubts might emerge about the decision to stage half of the World Cup at Colombo amid the wet period, considering this is the third abandonment on this pitch – yet the English team will just feel relieved while they advance to Indore.