Sydney: After entering their first finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur sympathised with England and said that having reserve days is a great idea.
The semi-final clash between India and England was called off without a single ball being bowled due to rain. And since there are no reserve days, India entered the finals as they topped their group in the initial stages.
“Unfortunate we didn’t get a game, but there are rules and we have to follow it. Having reserve days in the future will be a great idea. From day one, we knew we have to win all the games because in case the semis don’t happen, that would be hard for us. In that sense, credit to the team for winning all the games,” ESPN Cricinfo quoted Kaur as saying.
“First T20 World Cup final means a lot for us. But as a team, we just want to play our best cricket in the final. If we can play our best cricket, we will be in a good position. We know both South Africa and Australia have done well so far, so we are not thinking about the other team,” she added.
India defeated hosts Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka in their group to head into the semi-finals undefeated.
As per the ICC rules, both innings 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’.
Later in the day, South Africa and Australia will take on each other in the second semi-final, and if it gets washed out as well, the Proteas will make it to the finals as they topped Group B.
In the 2018 edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup, India lost to England in the semi-finals.