The second semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup between India and England is set to be played in Guyana on Thursday, June 27. However, staying true to the pre-match predictions, the heavens opened up with persistent rain an hour before the start of play, delaying an on-time toss.
With inclement weather likely to play a role throughout the day, fans were curious about the possibility of a reserve day should the stipulated overs not be bowled today. Unfortunately, no reserve day is scheduled for this semi-final and a result must be achieved today, barring which the game will be considered abandoned.
However, the ICC regulations confirm an additional time of 250 hours will be available from the actual end time for making up the overs and achieving a result. Both teams must bat at least 10 overs of their innings for a result, failing which the game will have no result.
In the event of a no result, Team India will advance to the final to take on South Africa, while England will be eliminated. This is due to Rohit Sharma's men finishing higher on their Super Eight Group standings (1st with 6 points), compared to England (2nd with 4 points).
Why no reserve day for the 2024 T20 World Cup 2nd semi-final?
While the first semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup between South Africa and Afghanistan had a reserve day in the event of rain, the India-England contest has to be finished on the same day. The move had fans questioning the reasoning behind the different rules for both semifinals over the past few days.
An ICC spokesperson recently offered clarification, stating the one-day gap between the second semi-final and the final as the reason behind having no reserve day for the former.
The spokesperson said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo:
"For performance reasons, to ensure teams do not have to 'play-travel-play' on consecutive days, the decision was taken to allocate the additional time for the second semi-final immediately post the game because the game is a 10.30am start, whilst the first semi-final is an evening start, which means it is not feasible to play all additional time on the same day."
As things stand, there is still a steady drizzle with the covers firmly in place, much to fans' disappointment.
India and England also met in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final with Jos Buttler's men coming out on top by 10 wickets in Adelaide.
