After about 20 months, the champion of T20 format is going to be decided once again. The final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 will be played between India and New Zealand on Sunday 8 March. The teams of India and New Zealand have reached Ahmedabad for this match. New Zealand has already started preparations but Team India will come for practice on Saturday.

Now the match is on Sunday but do you know that the date of this final can also change on the day of the match. There is a rule of ICC, which will be applicable in a particular situation and the date of the match can change.

Yes, it is so and this is not a new or different rule, but the same rule which applies in every ICC tournament. Just for this, you will have to keep an eye on the sky on the day of the final in Ahmedabad. We are talking about reserve day. Like every tournament, for this World Cup too, ICC has kept the rule of reserve day for the final match in the playing conditions, due to which the date of the match can also change.

When is the reserve day of the final?

There was no reserve-day rule in the group stage and Super-8 round of T20 World Cup 2026. That is, if the match was canceled due to rain, bad weather or any other reason, the match was not played on the next day and points were distributed. Although this arrangement was in place for the semi-final matches, it was not needed in both the matches. Now there is a provision of reserve day for the final to be held on March 8.

That is, if for any reason the match is not completed or does not start on the match day, then the match will be played on the reserve day. Accordingly, the match will be played or completed again on March 9.

What are the rules for reserve day?

But this cannot be done so easily. It is not that there was only light rain and the match will be postponed to the reserve day. The ICC rules clearly say that the match umpire's first attempt will be to complete the final on March 8. For this, in case of rain or any other interruption, an additional time of 120 minutes will be given, so that the match can be completed on the same day.

For this, if there is a situation where only 5-5 over matches can be played, then efforts will be made to complete it. If this also does not happen, in that case the match will be played on the reserve day. Now if the match is halved during this period, it will be completed the next day.