Five Finals of ICC Tournaments Affected by Weather

Weather has shaped the outcome of several ICC tournament finals, and it has shaped several more without a single drop falling on the final itself. From rain-ruined matches to reserve days and the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, here are five ICC finals where the weather played a decisive role, told honestly: only some of these finals were actually interrupted by rain, but in each case the weather, or the rules written for it, changed what happened.

Limited-overs finals cannot wait for the weather, so the ICC has built reserve days, minimum-over rules and revised targets into the playing conditions. When those rules are triggered, they do not just delay a match; they rewrite it.

1. 2002 Champions Trophy Final: Washed Out Twice and Shared

Detail	Info
Teams	India vs Sri Lanka
Venue	R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Dates	29 September and 30 September 2002 (reserve day)
What happened	Rain washed out the final on two consecutive days
Result	Trophy shared: India and Sri Lanka declared joint winners

After two washed-out attempts, India and Sri Lanka were declared joint winners, the only time a major ICC trophy has been shared. The detail is worth setting out, because it shows how close the match came to a result twice. On 29 September 2002, Sri Lanka batted first and scored 244, but rain ended the match during India’s innings. Under the tournament rules a reserve day was allocated, and on 30 September the match was restarted from scratch rather than resumed.

On the reserve day, Sri Lanka again batted first and scored 222. Rain then disrupted India’s chase once more, after only 8.4 overs, and since a minimum of 25 overs in the second innings was required to constitute a result at that time, and the weather did not permit further play, the ICC declared both teams joint winners. India were captained by Sourav Ganguly and Sri Lanka by Sanath Jayasuriya, and the shared trophy remains one of the great what-ifs of early-2000s cricket: two full Sri Lanka innings, no completed chase, and a trophy with two names on it.

2. 2019 World Cup Final: No Rain, But Conditions Decided a Classic

The 2019 final at Lord’s was unaffected by rain, but it deserves its place here for the playing conditions and for the weather rule it killed. The slow pitch made strokeplay difficult, contributing to the tie that led to the famous Super Over. New Zealand scored 241 for 8 and England finished on exactly 241, and the Super Over was tied as well, 15 runs each.

England were declared winners on the boundary count-back rule, having scored 26 boundaries to New Zealand’s 17 across the match and Super Over. The rule was widely criticised, with former players calling it ridiculous and unfair, and the ICC scrapped it later in 2019: in semi-finals and finals, a tied Super Over would now be repeated until one team scores more runs. For the full roll of champions, see the World Cup winners history. The 2019 final therefore changed the weather-and-tie rules of every ICC final that followed, even though no rain fell on the day. It is also a reminder that “conditions” means more than rain: a slow, two-paced Lord’s surface did as much to shape this final as any storm.

3. 2021 World Test Championship Final: The Reserve Day That Saved the Final

Detail	Info
Teams	India vs New Zealand
Venue	Rose Bowl, Southampton
Dates	18 to 23 June 2021, including the reserve day
What happened	Rain washed out the first day and much of day four; reserve day used
Result	New Zealand won by 8 wickets

New Zealand won on the sixth day, with the reserve day proving essential. Without it, the match would have been a draw. Rain washed out the entire first day at Southampton, so even the toss could not take place, and further rain ate into the following days, including the whole of day four, when New Zealand were 101 for 2 in reply to India’s 217.

The reserve day, built into the playing conditions precisely for this scenario, allowed the match to reach a result. India were bowled out for 170 in their second innings, leaving New Zealand 139 to win, and Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor saw them home with an unbroken stand of 96, Williamson finishing 52 not out and Taylor 47 not out. For the batting records from this final, see the most runs in the WTC final. Kyle Jamieson was Player of the Match after taking seven wickets, including five in the first innings. New Zealand collected the Test mace and 1.6 million US dollars, and the final became the strongest possible argument for reserve days in one-off Test finals.

4. 2022 T20 World Cup Final: A Rain-Shaped Tournament With a Dry Final

Several matches in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia were affected by rain, including washed-out games that shaped the semi-final lineup. The final itself was played in good weather, with England beating Pakistan at Melbourne, but the road to that final ran straight through the rain.

At Melbourne, the Australia versus England group match on 28 October 2022 was abandoned without a ball bowled, as was Ireland versus Afghanistan earlier the same day, and Afghanistan versus New Zealand was also washed out. Four of the first 14 Super 12 matches were lost to rain, leaving Group 1 in a logjam with four teams on three points and turning net run rate into a qualification weapon. Ireland’s surprise win over England at the same venue was itself rain-affected, decided by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

The final carried its own rain scare: with a high chance of rain forecast for both the scheduled day and the reserve day, the ICC increased the additional playing time available on the reserve day from two hours to four, and confirmed that ten overs per side were required to constitute a match in the knockout stage. In the end the extra time was not needed, but the tournament stands as the clearest modern example of rain deciding who even reaches a final.

5. 2023 World Cup Final: Dew, the Toss and the Chasing Advantage

While no 2023 final match was rained out, dew was a major factor throughout the tournament in India. Teams chasing won most evening matches, and the toss became crucial, including in the final, where Australia chose to chase and won. Dew makes the ball wet and difficult to grip, which blunts spin and seam movement in the second innings and hands the chasing side a genuine advantage under lights.

The 2023 final at Ahmedabad followed that pattern. India batted first, and Australia chased the target down under lights to win the trophy. The result fed a wider debate about day-night finals in dew-prone venues: when the toss effectively decides which team bowls with a dry ball and which team bowls with a wet one, the weather has influenced the final just as surely as rain would have, only more quietly.

Bonus Final: 2013 Champions Trophy Final, a 50-Over Final Played as a T20

One more final belongs in any honest list of weather-affected ICC finals, and it is the most extreme example of all. The 2013 Champions Trophy final between India and England at Edgbaston was delayed by almost six hours because of rain, starting at 16:20 local time instead of 10:30, and was reduced from 50 overs per side to 20 overs per side, with T20 rules applying.

India scored 129 for 7, with Virat Kohli top-scoring with 43 and Ravindra Jadeja, the Player of the Match, making 33 not out and taking 2 for 24. England, chasing 130, needed 20 from the last 16 balls with Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara at the crease, then lost four wickets for three runs and finished on 124 for 8. India won by five runs, and MS Dhoni became the first captain to win the T20 World Cup, the Cricket World Cup and the Champions Trophy. A 50-over final had been turned into a 20-over shootout by the weather, and the trophy was decided by it.

How Weather Rules Work in ICC Finals

Rule	Detail
Reserve day	Used for knockouts if rain prevents a result; in the 2021 WTC final it turned a certain draw into a New Zealand win
DLS method	Recalculates targets in rain-affected limited-overs games; decided Ireland’s 2022 win over England
Minimum overs	20 per side for ODIs and 5 per side for T20Is for a result in group games; 10 per side in 2022 knockout matches
Super Over repeats	Since the 2019 final, a tied Super Over in a semi-final or final is repeated until one team scores more runs; the boundary-count rule is gone
Shared trophy	If no play is possible on the scheduled day or the reserve day, the trophy is shared, as in Colombo in 2002

The lesson of all five finals is the same. Teams do not just play the opposition in an ICC final; they play the forecast, the reserve-day rules and the dew. The sides that win weather-affected finals are usually the ones that adapt fastest when the format itself changes underneath them, whether that means batting for a draw that never comes, chasing with a wet ball, or winning a 20-over game that was supposed to last 50.

FAQs About Weather-Affected ICC Finals

Which ICC final was shared due to rain?

The 2002 Champions Trophy final between India and Sri Lanka was shared after rain washed out the final on two consecutive days at Colombo.

What happens if rain washes out a World Cup final?

A reserve day is used. If no play is possible on either day, the trophy is shared.

Was the 2019 World Cup final affected by rain?

No. The 2019 final at Lord’s was not rain-affected, but its tied match and tied Super Over led the ICC to scrap the boundary-count rule that had decided it in England’s favour.

How did rain affect the 2022 T20 World Cup?

Rain washed out the Australia versus England and Ireland versus Afghanistan group matches at Melbourne and left Group 1 wide open, while Ireland’s upset win over England was decided by the DLS method.

Why does dew matter so much in day-night finals?

Dew wets the ball in the second innings, making it harder for bowlers to grip and easier for batters to score, which is why chasing sides have such a strong record in evening matches in India.

What is the shortest a rain-affected ODI final can be?

A rain-reduced ODI final can be cut to 20 overs per side, as the 2013 Champions Trophy final was, which then plays under T20-style rules.