The biggest T20 cricket match of the year takes place Thursday when traditional rivals India and England face off in the second semifinal match.
The India vs. England semifinal is part of the ICC Menâs T20 World Cup tournament in Mumbai, with the winner advancing to the championship match against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The match will be a historic one because the winner earns the chance to play for an unprecedented third T20 World Cup title. All either England or India will need to do is defeat New Zealand on Saturday. New Zealand has never won a T20 World Cup, but the Black Caps cruised past South Africa by nine wickets, chasing down a 170 total with a whopping 43 balls remaining on Wednesday to give themselves a chance at their first.
But what if rain washes out the India vs. England semifinal match? What happens then? The ICC revealed the exact scenario on Wednesday â but India fans are not going to like it.
What Happens if Rain Falls at Wankhede on Thursday?
The AccuWeather forecast for Mumbai does not call for rain on Thursday. But weather conditions can often be surprising, and the International Cricket Council has prepared for almost any contingency.
The first step taken by the ICC has been to set aside a reserve day in case of rain, according to a report by the Times of India.
That means if rain does indeed fall and render the game unplayable, or causes play to stop before the full innings have been completed, the match will simply continue on Friday from where it left off. The ICC has also allowed extra time to complete the match on each day in case of rain. On Thursday there will be 90 minutes of additional time allotted to complete the match.
If the game must be played on Friday, the ICC has allocated an extra two full hours to complete play in the semifinal.
What if the Game Still Can’t be Played? Who Advances?
Here’s the catch. Even if the reserve day is required to complete play, the rules of T20 cricket require that each batting side face a minimum of 10 overs (60 balls) each. If even one side is prevented by rain from receiving 60 deliveries, the match is recorded as a “no result.”
What happens then?
If 10 overs per team cannot be completed, the ICC then uses the Super 8 stage standings to determine who advances to the final. And that is not good news for the Men in Blue.
Why not? Because India finished second in Super 8 Group 1, winning two matches and losing one. That left India with a total of four points, which was enough to top West Indies, with two points, and Zimbabwe, which went winless and therefore pointless in the group.
Over in Group 2, England won all three of its matches, topping Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka for a total of six points.
That means that, in the event of a washout, India would be eliminated and England would move on to the final.
Assuming it is able to be played, as appears to be the case, Thursday’s match will mark the third straight T20 Cricket World Cup in which India and England have squared off in the semifinals. The two sides split the previous two, and each time the winner went on to win the World Cup â India in 2024, England in 2022.
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