Published: Mar 03, 2026, 02:07 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 05, 2026, 04:17 PM (IST)
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 has reached its final stage. The first semi-final will be played on Wednesday, while defending champions India will take on England in the second semi-final. India booked their place in the last four by beating West Indies in their final Super 8 match. The two-time champions England will be India’s opponents. The first semi-final will see South Africa take on New Zealand.
Cricket fans are always worried about the weather, and rain has spoiled the fun many times. In this World Cup, two matches were completely washed out due to rain. On February 21, the Super 8 game between New Zealand and Pakistan could not take place because of rain.
Since Pakistan did not reach the semi-finals, both semi-final matches will be played in India. But the big question in fans’ minds is: what happens if rain comes during the semi-finals?
The ICC has kept a reserve day for both semi-final matches. If rain stops play on the scheduled day, the match will be played on the next day.
If rain washes out the first semi-final on March 4, it will be played on March 5. In that case, India vs England will move to March 6. On the reserve day, matches will start at 3:00 PM IST instead of 7:00 PM.
The final will be played on March 8 in Ahmedabad, with March 9 as the reserve day. The final will still start at 7:00 PM IST even on the reserve day.
The ICC always tries to complete the match on the scheduled day first. On the regular day, 90 minutes of extra time is allowed. On the reserve day, 120 minutes of extra time is given. For the final, both days have 120 minutes extra.
If rain interrupts play, umpires will decide on reducing overs. For a result, both teams must face at least 10 overs each. If that does not happen, the match continues from the same score and remaining overs on the reserve day.
If a semi-final cannot be finished even on the reserve day, the team that finished higher in their Super 8 group will advance to the final.
In India’s case, they finished second in their Super 8 group. England topped their group by winning all three matches. So if India vs England semi-final gets washed out completely, England will go to the final.
Similarly, South Africa topped their group ahead of New Zealand, so South Africa would advance if their semi-final cannot be completed.
The final is set for March 8 in Ahmedabad, and fans hope the weather stays clear for these big matches.
For all latest updates of T20 World Cup 2026 you can visit: https://www.cricketcountry.com/icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2026/
