PAK vs ENG, T20 World Cup Final: ICC boosts playing time on match day

Rain is likely to play spoilsport in the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup between Pakistan and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but the International Cricket Council (ICC) isn’t giving up hope anytime soon of achieving a result in the biggest game of them all.

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The chances of the summit clash taking place appear doubtful with a forecast of 95 per cent chance of rain on match day with up to 25mm of rainfall expected. A similar forecast has been made for Monday that has been designated as the ‘Reserve Day’ in case the match fails to get completed on Sunday itself.

And in a bit to ensure the match does reach a conclusion instead of getting washed out, and the winner’s trophy is won fair and square instead of being shared like the 2002 Champions Trophy, the ICC has decided to add an extra hour to the playing time on Sunday.

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The global body confirmed the development in a release issued ahead of the final, which states that a total of 90 minutes should now be available to the match officials should any play be lost. The umpires can now stretch the game all the way till midnight on Sunday according to the revised playing conditions for the final.

Revised timings for Sunday:

Match commences: 7.00pm (1.30 pm IST)
1st Innings: 7.00-8.28pm (1.30-2.58 pm IST)
Innings Break: 8.28-8.48pm (2.58-3.18 pm IST)
2nd Innings: 8:48-10:30pm (3.18-5 pm IST)
Additional time available: 10:30pm-12:00am (5-6.30 pm IST)

In case a conclusion isn’t reached on Sunday, then the action moves to Monday, the official reserve day, where play will begin at 3 pm local time (9.30 am IST). The last time a two-part knockout match took place in an ICC event was the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final between India and New Zealand.

India was also involved in the only instance of an ICC trophy being shared between two teams — with Sri Lanka in the 2002 Champions Trophy.

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