The stage is all set for the T20 World Cup finals between Pakistan and England at MCG in Melbourne on Sunday. As the teams gear up for their finals, all eyes are on the Melbourne weather as rain is predicted for a couple of days.
According to reports, additional ground operating time is added for the finals. As a result of it, the match will take place at Sunday night with a total of 90 minutes avaliable in case any play is lost, reported ANI. The umpires can take the call as per the ground situation. The decision for extra time has come in the wake of the weather forecast.
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology has forecasted heavy rain for Sunday. "Cloudy. Very high (near 100%) chance of showers developing during the late morning and afternoon. The chance of a thunderstorm, possibly severe. Winds northerly 25 to 35 km/h tending north to northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h in the evening then becoming light in the late evening," read the forecast for Sunday.
While the prediction for Monday read "Cloudy. Very high (near 100%) chance of showers, becoming less likely in the evening. The chance of a thunderstorm. Winds northwesterly 15 to 25 km/h turning west to southwesterly 25 to 35 km/h in the late morning and early afternoon."
Out of the six matches that had taken place in Melbourne, only two got interrupted by rain. Though rain was predicted for most of the matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, it did not affect most of the matches.
What is a reserve day?
International Cricket Council (ICC) keeps reserve days in advance especially in cases when the threat of rain looms at large washing out the innings in semi-finals or finals. The reserve days are kept usually for 50 over World cup and 20 over World cup matches.
What happens if the match gets washed away?
If rain affects the match scheduled to be held today, it will be moved on to the next day i.e. Monday (reserve day). However since the weather forecast for Monday is not looking good, if the rain prevents the match then both Pakistan and England will be declared joint winners.
ICC rules
As per the ICC rules, the finale must have atleast ten 10 overs to be bowled by each team. An extra time of 30 minutes, in addition, would be given as well depending on the ground situation. However, if the match is taking place on a reserve day, then the finalists will be given an additional two hours of extra time. If the match gets halted midway on Sunday, then it will start from the same position on the reserve day as per the rules.
Matches moved to reserve day in ICC World Cup
Previously also the reserve day for ICC tournament has been used. The semi-final between India and New Zealand had to be shifted to the reserve day due to heavy rains in Manchester in 2019. Also, in 2002 ICC Champions Trophy was shared by India and Sri Lanka after the rain halted the match on the reserve day too.
Though both Pakistan and England team had little chance of securing a place at the semi-finals at some point in time, they fought their way through and made it to the knockouts by gaining the second spot in the points table in their respective groups.
Ahead of the finals, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak wished all the best to team England. "Good luck to @englandcricket in the T20 World Cup final against Pakistan tomorrow. I’ll be cheering you on, along with every other cricket fan across the UK. We’re behind you all the way," he tweeted.
