T20 World Cup 2024: Who Will Qualify for Final from Semi-Final 1, Why Different Rule for India vs England Clash

As rain threat is looming over both the semi-finals, let us delve into the playing conditions, availability of reserve days, and who will qualify for the final if the games do not happen at all.

Hyderabad: After 52 enthralling matches, the T20 World Cup 2024 has reached its knockout phase where South Africa and India will lock horns against Afghanistan and England respectively on Thursday.

While it is expected that the rain will play spoilsport in Trinidad where the first semi-final (South Africa v Afghanistan) will be played, the forecast is significantly worse for the second in Guyana, where India would look to take revenge for their 2022 World Cup semi-final defeat against defending champions England.

There are set to be thundery showers on the island on Thursday (June 27) according to AccuWeather, meaning the match could possibly be washed out.

Who will qualify for the final in the case of a washout?

The team which will finish at the top of the Super Eight stage will advance to the final if the game doesn't happen. So if the first South Africa-Afghanistan semi-final gets washed out, the former side will go through, and if the India-England game gets washed out, India will face Proteas in the title clash.

Do we have reserve days for the semi-finals?

The International Cricket Council (ICC) have announced the reserve day for the first semi-final, but not for the second, which has led to some accusations of bias for the governing body. The first semi-final will have an extra 60 minutes at the end of the day's play and a further 190 minutes on the reserve day.

If the first semi-final gets completely washed out on the scheduled day, it will be played on the next day, a day before the final. But, it will only come into effect if the match cannot be completed on the scheduled day, even after reducing overs.

However, the other semi-final, which will be played between Rohit Sharma's men and the defending champions, has been allotted with significant buffer or extra time and not the reserve day. The match is scheduled to start at 10:30 am local time (8 PM IST) and ICC has allotted 250 minutes more for the match before the contest starts losing the overs. The travel time between Guyana and Barbados is cited as the reason behind there not being a reserve day for the second semi-final.

Notably, ICC has pre-decided that if India qualifies for the semis, they'll play the second semi-final and if there is a wash-out, that will be to their benefit. However, it is worth noting that had India finished second, a washout in their semi-final would have knocked them out, and there is precedent for the ICC pre-allocating semi-final venues and times.

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