India will contest the second semifinal of the ICC T20 World Cup on June 27 in Providence, Guyana, should they advance to the knockout stage, ESPNCricinfo disclosed on Tuesday. The decision to assign India the Guyana semifinal likely hinges on schedule, given that the first semifinal in Tarouba, Trinidad, on June 26 at 8:30 PM local time, is a night match. The Guyana semifinal, however, will commence at 10:30 AM local time, translating to a prime-time slot of 8 PM in Indian Standard Time.
The final, set for June 29 in Bridgetown, Barbados, will kick off at 10 AM local time, corresponding to 7:30 PM in India, as per ESPNCricinfo. According to ESPNCricinfo’s review of the playing conditions, there is no reserve day for the second semifinal. However, the match will receive an additional 250 minutes of playing time, compared to the 190 minutes allocated for the first semifinal and final, both of which have reserve days.
The extra hour has been allotted due to the absence of reserve days in the tournament schedule. Providing a reserve day for the second semifinal would have resulted in only one day’s rest and practice time between that match and the final. Persistent rain during the second semifinal could lead to a tight schedule, as a result, can only be determined if both teams bat for a minimum of 10 overs.
In most T20 matches, the team batting second must complete at least five overs to reach a result. This rule will apply to most matches in the ICC T20 World Cup. However, in knockout games, teams batting second must face a minimum of 10 overs to determine a result according to the Duckworth-Lewis method. This was also the case in the knockout matches of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
India is positioned in Group A of the ICC tournament alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, and co-hosts USA. India will commence their T20 World Cup journey against Ireland on June 5 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, followed by a high-profile encounter against Pakistan on June 9 at the same venue. Subsequently, India will face off against the USA and Canada on June 12 and 15, respectively.
India’s squad comprises Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohd. Siraj. The reserves include Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Avesh Khan.