Sydney: The first semi-final clash between India women and England women in the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup has been called off without a ball being bowled due to rain here at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday. India thus qualify for the final by virtue of finishing higher on the points table.
Heavy rain was predicted for today at Sydney and if it does not relent, both semi-finals of the Women's T20 World Cup are in threat of getting washed out.
List of Finalists in Women's T20 World Cup If the second semi-final match is also washed out, then South Africa will also progress to the finals like India, sending hosts Australia out of the tournament.
For the semi-finals of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, an allowance of 30 minutes of extra time had been allocated to each game, and there must also be a minimum of a 30-minute break between matches.
Heavy rain forced the match to be abandoned As per the ICC rules, both innings of a match need to have at least five overs to constitute a match. However, in ICC tournaments, the minimum over-limit goes to 10 overs per side. So if rain forces the match to be less than 10 overs per innings, the match is deemed as 'abandoned'.
Since ICC didn't approve Cricket Australia's request for a reserve day for the semifinal, weather conditions in Sydney has become a major concern for the stakeholders of the game.
Semi-final clash against England washed out What did the captains say?
Harmanpreet Kaur: It is unfortunate not to get a game due to the weather. But that's how the rules go. In future, it would be nice to have a reserve day. From day one, we knew that we have to win all the games because if in case we don't get any play in the semifinals, it will be hard for us. Credit to the team, we wanted to win all the games and we did it. Everybody is looking in great touch. Shafali and Smriti are giving us good starts, hoping they do it in the final too. Getting a good start is crucial, because T20 is a short format and it's tough to come back once under pressure. We're looking positive in the nets, and looking to give our best. Unfortunately, both of us (her and Mandhana) couldn't produce the results but it's good to see others stepping up. It means a lot for us because it's our first final. As a team, we just want to go out there and play our best cricket. I feel that if we can play our best cricket, we will have a strong chance. We aren't thinking about whom we want to face and just focusing on our game.
Heather Knight: Frustrating, didn't want the World Cup to end this way but not much you can do about this. Would have been good to have a reserve day perhaps. That loss to South Africa cost us. Not really, we expected to reach the semi-finals and that we did. Undone by the weather. Did feel like we had started to gain momentum in recent games and we were really ready for this semifinal. Yes, Sarah Glenn and Sophie (Ecclestone) have been great. So has been Mady. Not starting a tournament great has been a concern, so perhaps we can work on that (smiles).
