Rain has proven to be a villain in cricket on many occasions. Many fans would remember the 1992 World Cup semifinal match between South Africa and England, where the Proteas needed 22 runs off 13 balls to win the match, but because of the rain interruption and the rules in place at that time, the equation came down to 22 runs off one ball, which knocked out the Proteas from the race to win the World Cup.
It was not the last time that the rain gods interrupted the proceedings in a big match of the cricket tournaments. Luckily, the organizers have now introduced the rule of the reserve day, where the organizers keep one day extra in hand so that if it rains on the original day of the final, the big game is pushed to the next day. Here’s a list of three such instances.
1. Biggest T20 cricket match of 2023 – IPL Final
With no T20 World Cup scheduled to happen in 2023, the IPL Final will be the highest-viewed T20 match of the year. It was scheduled to take place on May 28 in Ahmedabad. However, due to persistent rain at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the match had to be pushed to Monday, the reserve day.
2. Biggest Test match of 2021 – WTC Final
The inaugural World Test Championship Final took place two years ago in England, where India squared off against New Zealand. Generally, the Test matches last for five days. However, due to rain in that game, it had to be pushed to Day 6, where the New Zealand cricket team emerged victorious.
3. ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal 2019 between India and New Zealand
In the 2019 World Cup, the semifinal between the Indian cricket team and the New Zealand cricket team was interrupted by rain as well. The match was suspended midway and the play resumed on the reserve day, where the New Zealand cricket team won and advanced to the final.
