9 hours left for first semi-final of ICC T20 World Cup at Trinidad

Trinidad and Tobago: In just the next nine hours, the first match of the semi-final round for the ongoing ICC T20 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 will be started at Brian Lara Cricket Ground, Trinidad and Tobago.

The match will be going to make history as Afghanistan has qualified for the semi-final of the T20 World Cup for the first ever in their cricket history, while South Africa will play their third. The match will start at 8: 30 as per the Caribbean Time Zone where teams will play against each other to secure the spot in the finals of the tournament.

Notably, Afghanistan qualified for the semi-final round after securing back-to-back wins against world champions Australia and the other one is Bangladesh in Group 1. The victory of the team made Australia knocked out of the T20 World Cup at the time when the team won the CWC ODI on November 19, 2023.

On the other hand, South Africa defeated West Indies in Group 2 of the World Cup and finished their Super 8 journey by topping the points table with 6 points and reaching the semi-final. West Indies lost their chance of the World Cup against the team at their home ground and got knocked out of the semi-final.

Afghanistan finished their Super 8 journey by securing four points and second position in the points table with India at the top by winning three out of three matches. Now, India will play against England who is in the second position in Group 2 and Afghanistan will play against South Africa which is in the first position in Group 2, as per the format of the ICC T20 World Cup.

Now, both the teams have reached Trinidad and Tobago where they were welcomed with calypso beats and cultural offerings.

However, the weather in the Caribbean region has been posing threats to the staging of the match in Trinidad and Tobago. Due to the ongoing Hurricane Season, the rainfall and thunderstorm activities have been creating flood-like situations across the region which is the concerned issue.

Several matches have recorded such issues due to the rain as the knockout match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh has been interrupted by the rains three to four times. It has also shortened the match with the reduction in the over and the set target by the DLS method.

If the situation of the rain again arises in the match today, several conditions will be applied to the ongoing game as ICC has not decided on another date for the semi-final match. In case, the match will not be able to get to the conclusion due to the heavy rain then the highest point taker team in their respective group will qualify for the finals.

For instance, between Afghanistan and South Africa, the latter is stood at the first position with six points in the Group 2 of the Super 8, due to which they will be qualified for the finals in the case of heavy rainfall.

The second match of the semi-final will be played on Thursday at Providence Stadium, Guyana at 10: 30 am, as per the Caribbean Zone Time. In the second match, old rivalries of India and England will again heat up as India was defeated by England in the finals of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.

The finals of the tournament are scheduled to take place in Barbados on June 29, 2024.