On Tuesday, the much-anticipated India-New Zealand clash at the Old Trafford was stopped due to rain with New Zealand scoreboard reading 211/5 after 46.1 overs. The Kiwis will now resume their innings on the reserve day, which is Wednesday, with 23 deliveries still remaining in their innings.
Kiwi batsman Ross Taylor was not out on 67 when the rains came pouring down and the innings had to be stopped.
As per the rules of the International Cricket Council, every effort must be made to try and complete the match on the match day itself by using the available extra time at disposal (2 hours) and by reducing the number of overs to the least (20) to achieve a match result on the same day itself.
If still, the match could not be completed, only then will the reserve day be used to complete the match. The start time and the hours of play will remain the same (3 pm IST).
It is worth noting that the reserve day will only be a continuation and not a re-match.
In case the match is tied, there is a provision for a super over to decide the winner in the ongoing Cricket World Cup semi-finals and finals.
The poor form of the Kiwi top order continued amidst overcast conditions in Old Trafford, Manchester.
Martin Guptill was dismissed for a 14-ball 1 when the team’s score was only 1 run in the first three overs.
However, after Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Guptill, Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls came in together and steadied the Kiwi ship. The duo put on 68 runs for the second wicket and looked all set for a big partnership when Ravindra Jadeja got the ball to turn and beat Nicholls’ bat to rattle his stumps.
Post that, New Zealand struggled to boost the run rate and lost wickets at regular intervals with Williamson also departing post his half-century.
Taylor, the man in form, would look to make the best use of the remaining 23 balls to try and propel the Kiwis to near or over the 250 runs mark, which could be a challenging total on the surface.
In case, rain washes out the reserve day, India qualify for the finals on account of having more points than New Zealand in the league stage.
Brief scorecard: New Zealand: 211/5 in 46.1 overs (Ross Taylor 67*, Ken Williamson 67; Jadeja 1/34) vs India