India and South Africa are scheduled to face off in the T20 World Cup final on Saturday, June 29, at Kensington Oval in Barbados. However, the match faces a potential threat from rain, which had already disrupted the semi-final against England in Guyana.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has allocated 250 minutes of extra time for the semi-finals due to the absence of a reserve day, and the same allowance applies to the final. This aims to ensure the match is completed on the scheduled day.
The Match will begin at 10:30 AM local time, but rain could delay the proceedings by up to 4 hours and 10 minutes.
According to ICC rules, the priority is to complete the match on the scheduled day, even if it requires a reduced-overs game. The ICC guidelines state, “If play is interrupted on the scheduled day, the umpires shall use the available extra time and, if necessary, reduce the number of overs to try to achieve a result on that day.”
To have a result, each team must play at least 10 overs. If rain prevents any play on June 29, the match will be moved to the reserve day, Sunday, June 30. The ICC rules specify, “Each team must have had the opportunity to bat for a minimum of ten (10) overs for a result to be achieved.”
In case of a mid-game interruption, the match can continue to the next day, maintaining the original 20 overs per side if the second innings hasn’t started. If the match resumes on the reserve day, it will continue from where it was paused, with possible overs reduction based on the conditions.
The ICC’s guidelines are clear: they aim to finish the final on Saturday, even if rain requires a DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) adjusted game. However, if weather conditions are unfavorable, the final might be moved to Sunday, June 30.
