India made it to their maiden Women’s T20 World Cup final after their semifinal match against England in Sydney was washed out on Thursday. Having topped the group stage, India qualified for the final which will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
The match was scheduled to begin at 9.30 am IST (3 pm local time), but the toss was delayed as it continued to rain and conditions remained wet. The match was evetually called off without a ball being bowled.
Champions Australia will take on South Africa in the second semifinal to be played at Sydney on Thursday. The match is scheduled to begin by 1.30pm IST.
If the second semifinal is also washed out, South Africa will automatically qualify for the final they topped their group stage.
Cricket Australia had requested the International Cricket Council to have a reserve day for the semifinals after forecast of rain threatened to wash out the matches, but it was declined by the cricket body.
“Really frustrating. Not how we wanted the World Cup to finish for us. No reserve day, no chance of getting play, and ultimately that loss against South Africa cost us,” a dejected England captain Heather Knight said after the game was abandoned. She added that her team paid the price for not starting the tournament well.
India topped Group A with four wins in as many matches while England finished second in Group B with three wins and a loss.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur also agreed that the semifinals should have had a reserve day.
(With inputs from PTI)
