T20 World Cup 2022: Rain washes out New Zealand-Afghanistan game in Melbourne

The 21st match of the T20 World Cup between New Zealand and Afghanistan has been called off following heavy rain in Melbourne. The match was supposed to start at 1:30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but even after hours of waiting, the weather didn’t improve and the umpires decided to abandon the match.

Following that, both teams have shared a point each as New Zealand still sit at the top of the table with three points from two matches. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka are second on the table with two points from the same number of matches. On the other hand, Afghanistan are at the bottom of the table after their five-wicket loss at the hands of England in the previous match. 

It’s not just the match between New Zealand and Afghanistan, the match between England and Ireland at the same venue was also affected by rain earlier. Chasing 158 runs, England were 105 for 5 after 14.3 overs and needed 53 runs in over five overs to register their second win of the event. However, the game couldn't finish because of rain and as per the DLS method, Ireland were announced as the winners since the Three Lions were five runs behind Ireland as per DLS.

Group 1 remains wide open following a rain-marred day in Melbourne

With England losing and New Zealand having to share points, Group 1 of the Super 12 is now wide open for all the teams to qualify. With Australia losing their first match against New Zealand, the Kiwis along with England were considered to be the favourites but with both teams losing points, things have now changed.

On top of that, Sri Lanka are playing some exceptional cricket and Ireland also showed the kind of damage they can do against a top opponent. Thus, it’s fair to say all the teams need to put their best with the hope of qualifying for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. Also, with rain playing a part, the teams need to be smart about their approach.

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