Explained: Why is there no 'Reserve day' for T20 World Cup 2024 second semifinal between India and England?

06-27-2024
3 min read
(Getty)

The T20 World Cup 2024, which is being held in USA and West Indies, is nearing the business end. The Super 8 stage saw some shocks with hosts West Indies and former champions Australia getting knocked out.

The likes of Pakistan and New Zealand were eliminated from the tournament after the group stage itself. 

South Africa have already reached the final while India and England battle it out in the second semifinal on Thursday.

Bet here on T20 World Cup 2nd semifinal and other cricket matches!

Rain has been a major factor at the T20 World Cup so far, especially in the matches played in the USA. However, it has emerged that there will be no reserve day for the second semi-final in Guyana.

Why 'Reserve day' will not be kept for T20 World Cup 2024 second semi-final

There are separate rules in case of a rain delay for the two semi-final matches, in a departure from the norm. Usually in global tournaments, there is a set of rules in place for rain delays which applies to the semi-finals or knockout stages in general.

MORE: 'They've not achieved anything' - Gambhir slams Pietersen and De Villiers over Pandya captaincy comments 

There was a reserve day (June 27) allotted for the first semi-final in Trinidad on the evening of June 26 which was won by South Africa.

The second semi-final is in Guyana on June 27 at 10:30 AM, but will not have a reserve day. Instead, 250 minutes have been allotted on the same day for the match to be completed on June 27 itself.

Reportedly, the reason for this is to ensure that no team is required to play the second semi-final on a reserve day of June 28, and play the final on the next day (June 29).

Quoting a source Cricbuzz wrote, 

All four teams have exactly the same opportunity to finish a game. For performance reasons, to ensure teams do not have to 'play, travel, play' on consecutive days, the decision was taken to allocate the additional time for the second semi-final immediately post the game because the game is a 10.30 AM start, whilst the first semi-final is an evening start, which means it is not feasible to pay all additional time on the same day. This also ensures that fans in the stadium have the best chance of seeing a result on the day.