ICC Champions Trophy 2017: What will happen if India-Pakistan clash is washed out

What’s the story?

Speculations, predictions, terror threats: the lead-up to the India vs Pakistan match on Sunday has seen it all. However, nothing could be worse than weather conditions being a hindrance to the live action tomorrow.

Cricket fans all over the world are geared up for what might well be the marquee match of the tournament. According to the weather forecast though, there are chances of the game being truncated due to periodic showers throughout the day.

There is a thunderstorm predicted for Birmingham Saturday afternoon with better conditions expected on the next day. However, the forecast for Sunday doesn’t exactly paint a bright picture. If rain decides to play the spoilsport that day, both the teams will have to settle for one point each.

In case you didn’t know...

The climate in England and Wales is such that rains can disrupt action at any time of the year. In fact, the Australia vs New Zealand game, which was the second match of the tournament, was first truncated and subsequently canceled because of repeated showers. It was played in Birmingham.

Team India’s practice too had to be shifted indoors because of adverse conditions.

The details

Although heavy showers have not been predicted for the 4^th of June, light rains might end up reducing the number of overs in the match. The Australia-New Zealand match was reduced to 46 overs per side on Friday before being called off eventually.

What’s next?

Assuming the worst, if the match does get washed out, India and Pakistan will both receive one point each. They will then sit in the middle of Group B, between the winner and loser of today’s match between South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Author’s Take

The last thing that a cricket enthusiast would want in such a high-intensity match is for the rain to have a say in the outcome. Players from both teams will also be keeping their fingers crossed, hoping for the weather to stay fair for the duration of the encounter. After all, it is cricket that is the ultimate winner when two teams of such caliber lock horns.