New Delhi: India is all set to clash with New Zealand in the World Cup 2019 semi-final in Manchester’s Old Trafford stadium on July 9. While the excitement for the game is high, rain may play a dampner, with the weather forecast suggesting disruptions and delayed start.
“Most areas on Sunday will be dry with spells of sunshine, the longest of these likely towards the coast. Cloud may bubble up inland to produce a few showers over the hills. Maximum temperature of 20 °C, ” the British MET department said.
India and New Zealand will face each other for the first time during ICC World Cup 2019 as their last encounter in Nottingham was called off due to rains. The MET department has stated that the match might start later than the scheduled time as the chances of rain during that time is 50 percent. The skies are most likely to make away for sun post 1 pm local time.
However, unlike the previous matches, ICC has kept a reserved day for the knockout matches. So if the India-NZ match gets washed out on Tuesday, the teams can resume the match on Wednesday.
However, the weather forecast for Wednesday doesn’t seem promising either. If the match doesn’t take place on Wednesday, India will qualify for the final as they are ahead of Kiwis on the points table. The second semifinal of the tournament will take place between England and Australia on July 11 at Edgbaston.
Prasanta Patnaik