Rain once again played spoilsport at the ICC World Cup 2019, suspending play during the semifinal between India and New Zealand at Old Trafford in Manchester.
New Zealand were 211/5 with Ross Taylor batting on 67* and Tom Latham on 3*, when rain halted the match after 46.1 overs of play, and did not stop.
By the time when the covers were off at 10pm IST, the outfield had too much water and there was no way match could have started.
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The match will continue tomorrow—the reserve day. New Zealand will resume their innings from where they left off today.
But with more rain predicted tomorrow, the chances of a full match appear bleak.
A fresh day will certainly be advantageous for India as it will be a continuation and not a restart. Any advantage earned on the scheduled day will be carried through to the reserve day. Super over will determine the winner, if it's a tied match.
If the semifinal is washed out on the reserve day too, the team ranked higher in the league stage—India, in this case—will go through.
Earlier, after the initial wobble, captain Kane Williamson steadied the ship first with a 68-run partnership with opener Henry Nicholls, and then with a 65-run stand with Taylor.
After a brilliant start by Jasprit Bumrah (1/25 in 8 overs) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/30 in 8.1 overs), Ravindra Jadeja (1/38 off 10 overs) and Hardik Pandya (1/55 in 10 overs) did well in the middle overs to keep the opposition under check.
Ravindra Jadeja was economical as usual in the middle overs on a slow and turning pitch, giving away just 34 runs in his 10 overs, dismissing opener Henry Nicholls (28). He had 38 dots to his credit by the time he ended the spell.
Martin Guptill (1) looked like a 'walking wicket' and Bumrah relieved him off his misery with a delivery that kicked up from three quarter length, forcing him to push at it. Kohli at second slip made no mistake with a sharp chance.
Williamson looked compact in his defence along with the edgy Nicholls during their 68-run second wicket stand.
(With PTI inputs)
