ICC World Cup 2019: India vs New Zealand First Semi-final Reserve Day Scenario

The first semi-final, i.e. India vs New Zealand of ICC World Cup 2019 was going smoothly at Old Trafford stadium in?Manchester till the first ball of the 47th over in the first inning where New Zealand were batting as they chose to do so after having won the toss. However, the rain forced to stop the game and the game didn’t take place further, pushing the game to the reserve day, i.e. on Wednesday. The game will resume where it stopped.

New Zealand put up at 211 for 5 in 46.1 overs where Ross Taylor was in the middle at 67 and Tom Latham at 3. Though the weather forecast for the reserve day does not look promising. “Skies will often be cloudy through Wednesday, with further heavy showers at times. Some brighter interludes are possible between the showers though,” according to the reports.

New Zealand will complete their 50-over at first in the reserve day and then India will finish their 50-over chase if the weather permits. If rain occurs again then the match might be shortened by overs although that depends on the conditions. India need to bat at least 20 overs. If the game can’t resume, India will qualify for the final at Lord’s as they had finished on the top of the points table in the group league stage.

However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) took to Twitter and shared the possibilities as well.

The?Board of Control for Cricket in India also tweeted and shared what could be the reserve day scenario.

“In the event of poor weather for example, steps will be taken to be able to finish the match that day e.g. reducing the number of overs down to the minimum of 20 overs per team needed to achieve a result, or by extending the match by up to 120 min.”

“If there is still no result on the scheduled match day, play will continue on the Reserve Day, using the same start time and hours of play as the scheduled match day.”

“The reserve day will be a continuation not a restart, assuming play commenced on the original match day, meaning the score from the original match day will be carried through to the reserve day.”

If it rains in the reserve day of?India vs New Zealand clash as well then Duckworth?Lewis?Stern (DLS) method will come into play which will make the things difficult for India as they will have to chase a big total then. The DLS method is a mathematical calculation which calculates the target for the team who will bat in the second innings if the game interrupts by weather or other circumstances. This system is considered to be the most accurate method of setting a target.