ICC Women's T20 World Cup: What if the final between India and Australia gets washed out?

India’s passage to the upcoming final of the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup sparked a controversy thanks to the manner in which the team made it to the title-decider. The semifinal between India and England was washed out without a ball being bowled. As per ICC rules, India progressed ahead on the virtue of finishing higher in the group stages.

India had won all of their four group games. On the other hand, England had suffered one defeat which came in their first game of the tournament against South Africa. With no reserve day in place for the semifinal, England paid the price for suffering one loss in the competition while India were rewarded for their hundred percent record.

The rule was in place right from the start of the competition and all the captains had signed it. But despite that, the rule faced criticism for understandable reasons. All eyes are now on the final which takes place between India and Australia on Sunday (March 8) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Australia beat South Africa by 5 runs (DLS method) in the semifinal to book their place in the final.

What if rain plays spoilsport again?

The big question that is doing the rounds ahead of the final is what happens if the match gets washed out? Well, unlike the semi-finals a reserve day has been scheduled on Monday for the final. Thus, there is less chance of a result not coming out. As per rules,  if rain interrupts play on Sunday, officials will start reducing overs (a minimum of 10 overs per team is required to constitute a match) before reserve day comes into play.

If the reserve day is required, the match will resume under the same conditions under which the final ball of the first day was played. Here is an example to make things clear. Say, the match is interrupted on Sunday by rain and play resumes as a 15-over-a-side game on the same. If rain returned to ruin the rest of Sunday, the game would continue on Monday as a 15-over-a-side match.

However if that same match did not resume on Sunday after the original rain disruption, it would revert to a full T20 on Monday. In case, the reserve day also gets washed out, then the two teams will be sharing the trophy.