ICC World Cup 2015: A look at how tied and abandoned matches will be decided in the knockout stages

India have an advantage in the quarter-finals and semi-finals having topped their group

With the knockout stages of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 set to begin next week, we have a look at the some of the important rules that will govern proceedings.

No Super Overs for quarter-finals and semi-finals

Over the last few years, we have seen a lot of tied T20 matches being decided by a ‘Super Over’ which sees one bowler bowling an over at three batsmen from the opposition team with the batting side having two wickets to play with. If the match is still tied after the Super Over, the team that has hit the most boundaries wins.

But it has been decided by the ICC that there will be no Super Overs for the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the ongoing World Cup. Rather, the team that finished in a higher position during the group stages will go through to the next round.

Abandoned Matches

The same will apply to matches which get abandoned due to rain. There are reserve days for knockout matches but in case both teams do not bat for 20 overs, which is the minimum required to constitute a match, the team which finished higher in the group stages will go through.

This rule will benefit India and New Zealand as both have topped their respective groups and will progress to the next stage in the competition in case they are involved in a tie or an abandoned match.

How does a reserve day work?

A reserve day is usually scheduled as a backup option for knockout matches by the ICC in case rain doesn’t allow both teams to bat a minimum of 20 overs each in the match on the scheduled day.

Consider a team is chasing 300 runs in 50 overs when rain suddenly interrupts play after the completion of 10 overs in the second innings. Then, the rains stop and play is set to resume but a new target has been set using the Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) method which has to be chased down in only 40 overs.

There are two ways how this can pan out:

(i) If the day’s play is abandoned again without a ball being bowled, then the match will continue on the reserve day with the D/L method being ignored. The team batting second will have to chase 300 itself in 50 overs.

(ii) If even a single ball is bowled after the interval and then play is abandoned for the day, then on the reserve day, the team batting second will get only 40 overs and the target will be as per the D/L method.

If play is abandoned on the scheduled day after the toss and without a ball being bowled, there is no re-toss on the reserve day and teams will not be allowed to make any changes to their playing XI.

Super Over for final

The final, however, will see the use of a Super Over in case there’s a tie. If the Super Over ends in a tie as well, the team that has scored the most boundaries during their main innings and the Super Over will be declared as the world champions.

If the number of boundaries are also equal, the winner will be decided by who scored more boundaries during the main match. If the teams still can’t be separated, then the team that scored more runs from the 6th delivery of the Super Over will be declared the winners. If that’s also equal, then the winner will be decided by who scored more from the 5th ball and so on.

If the main match is tied via the D/L method and the Super Over is tied thereafter, then the ‘boundaries’ rule to decide the winner won’t come into play. The winner will then be decided by who scored more from the 6th ball (if equal, 5th and so on) of the Super Over.

If the Super Over is not possible due to rain or a match is abandoned without both teams batting a minimum of 20 overs, then the trophy will be shared between the two finalists.