India and Australia are set to face each other in the first semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai. What are the playing conditions set for semifinals? What will happen if it rains in the match? Is there a reserve day? Here are all the details:
Three matches in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy have been affected by rain so far. In the group stage, teams shared a point each after the match was abandoned due to rain. But what will happen if the same thing happens in the semifinal clashes of the showpiece event? In this case, the reserve day is in place for both semifinals and the final as well.
The India vs Australia clash is set to be played in Dubai, where the chances of rain abandoning the match are close to nil. However, if it indeed rains in the semifinal, all efforts will be made to complete the match on the same day. If that is not possible, the match will resume on the reserve day from where it was stopped. If the match is not completed even on the reserve day, then the team finishing on top of the table in the group stage will qualify for the final.
Moreover, in the knockout matches, the team batting second should’ve completed at least 25 overs for the result to be decided via the DLS method. Now, there is a possibility of rain in Lahore, where the second semi-final is scheduled to be played between South Africa and New Zealand.
If both semifinals are washed out, then India and South Africa will qualify for the final. In case the final is also washed out, then the trophy will be shared. Interestingly, only once in eight editions before, the Champions Trophy has been shared, in 2002 when the final between India and Sri Lanka was washed out twice, including on the reserve day. However, according to the playing conditions back then, the match was played afresh on the reserve day as well.
On both days, Sri Lanka batted first and batted for a full 50 overs, but rain didn’t allow India’s innings to go past the 10-over mark on both occasions.
