India and New Zealand will face off in the first International Cricket Council World Cup semi-final, on Tuesday, at the Old Trafford in Manchester.
The first semi-final clash is likely to be interrupted by rain, with light showers forecast for the match day. According to the British MET department, “it will start to cloud over from the west during the evening. Maximum temperature 20 °C.”
The match will take place but there are expectations of some delays and interruptions.
“The weather could be playing a part for India against New Zealand. It is going to be gloomy as there is rain close by Old Trafford. It looks slightly going to be rainy, drizzly, on and off for the morning,” the Met Office said.
“It does look a bit drier for the afternoon. We should get a game on but expect interruptions, expect some delay. It’s going to be humid as well and overcast. The ball could be swinging around if you are going it’s not going to be warm,” the forecast added.
Incidentally, the India vs New Zealand league phase encounter in Nottingham was called off due to rain without a single ball being bowled.
With wet weather expected to affect Tuesday’s semifinal match, the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method could come to feature prominently.
Apart from the weather, New Zealand will have to find a way to deal with Rohit Sharma, who smashed a record fifth century at this year’s tournament against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
The ICC has kept a reserve day for the knockout matches. So if the match cannot be completed on Tuesday, the two teams will pick up from where they left it on Wednesday.
However, the weather forecast for Wednesday is also not promising as ‘rather extensive rain’ along with generally overcast conditions has been forecast for the day.
In the event that play cannot be completed on Wednesday as well and the match is washed out, India will qualify for the final on the basis of more points (15) than New Zealand (11) in the league stage.
New Zealand, the tournament runners-up last time, grabbed the last semi-final berth after a hat-trick of defeats nearly derailed their strong start in the tournament.
