Team India reached to the maiden final of the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup after their semi-final clash against England got washed out at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday. Due to the persistent rain which started in the morning led to the delay of the toss and eventually, to call off the semi-final without a ball being bowled.
India Enter Maiden Final After Semi-Final Against England Washed Out
India has made it to its first-ever T20 World Cup final after finishing at the top of the points table in Group A by winning all four matches. Starting their series by defeating the defending champions Australia in the opening game, the Indian women team didn’t look back and registered comprehensive wins against Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka to finish the group at the top with eight points.
On the other hand, England who had a better net run rate as compared to India had finished Group B at the second spot with six points as they lost the opening match against South-Africa.
After the game was called off, the England captain Heather Knight said, “Frustrating, didn’t want the World Cup to end this way but not much you can do about this. It 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.”
Expressing her disappointment, the India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said, “It is unfortunate not to get a game due to the weather. But that’s how the rules go. In the 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.”
She further added, “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 who we want to face and just focusing on our game.”
Praising the Indian team for their play during the group matches, the Indian skipper hoped to perform in the same way by the team in the final scheduled to be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, which is coinciding with the International Women’s Day. They will be facing the winner of the other semi-final game between South Africa and Australia.
Earlier, Cricket Australia had made a last-minute request of having a reserve day for the semi-finals, however, Cricket Australia’s chief executive Kevin Roberts on Wednesday revealed that the request was declined by the ICC.
The ICC has maintained that the T20 World Cups (for both men and women) are short, sharp events with reserve days factored in only for the final. Also, all the teams knew of the playing conditions and did sign on it much before the tournament began.
A spokesperson had said on the eve of the game, “Allowing for any other reserve days would have extended the length of the event, which isn’t feasible. There is a clear and fair alternative should there be no play in any of the semi-finals with the winner of the group progressing.”
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