The question looming over India’s T20 World Cup semi-final match against England at Providence Stadium in Guyana is whether it will rain. Rain has created a cloud of uncertainty over the much-anticipated game, which is a rematch of the last T20 World Cup semi-final held in Adelaide, Australia. Both teams are vying for a spot in the final against South Africa in Barbados.
The Proteas had an easy path to victory over Afghanistan in the first semi-final, which took place in Trinidad without any rain disruptions, even though a reserve day was scheduled for that match.
However, the situation is different for the second semi-final. The ICC has not designated a reserve day for the India-England game. Given that Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, has experienced significant rainfall in recent days, there is a chance that rain could impact the match on game day.
If rain does interfere, the outcomes for India and England will differ greatly. England would face disappointment, while India would advance directly to the final, thanks to their superior standing in the league and Super 8 stage.
The ICC’s decision to implement different rules for the two semi-finals has sparked controversy in the media. In response, the ICC issued a clarification.
An ICC spokesperson explained that because there is only a one-day gap between the second semi-final in Guyana and the final in Barbados, the decision to forgo a reserve day for the India-England match was made to ensure the second finalist has sufficient time to rest and travel.
“For performance reasons, and to avoid teams having to ‘play-travel-play’ on consecutive days, it was decided to allocate extra time for the second semi-final immediately after the game because it starts at 10:30 AM, while the first semi-final was an evening game, making it impractical to extend play on the same day,” said the ICC spokesperson, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Additionally, the first semi-final was held in the evening (8:30 PM local time, 6:00 AM IST), while the second semi-final is scheduled to begin at 10:30 AM local time (8:00 PM IST).
The ICC spokesperson also mentioned that any reduction in overs would only begin at approximately 2:40 PM (12:10 AM IST), which is 250 minutes after the scheduled start time of 10:30 AM.
