T20 World Cup 2022: Warm-up contest between India and New Zealand called off due to heavy rains in Brisbane

The final warm-up contest ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 between India and New Zealand on Wednesday, October 19, has been called off due to persistent rains at the Gabba in Brisbane. The prior warm-up match between Pakistan and Afghanistan also met the same fate after the completion of the first innings.

The cut-off for a five-over-a-side game was determined to be 8:46 pm IST, but the rain showed no signs of slowing down, forcing the entire contest to be abandoned without a ball being bowled.

India and New Zealand had both played a solitary warm-up match before their scheduled match today. While the Men in Blue secured a slender six-run win over hosts Australia, the Kiwis suffered a worrying nine-wicket loss at the hands of South Africa.

Rain has made its presence in the short time since the tournament's commencement. Earlier today, the warm-up clash between South Africa and Bangladesh was also ruled out due to heavy rains at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.

Following the culmination of 15 warm-up contests, the teams that qualified for the Super 12 stage will be seen in action in a few days time. Upon the results of the preliminary qualification round, which will finalize the final 12 teams in the competition, the next stage will begin on Saturday, October 22.

England are scheduled to take on Afghanistan in Perth while defending champions Australia will face New Zealand on the opening day of the Super 12 contests. The match between the Trans-Tasman rivals is expected to be interrupted by rain.

India will begin their campaign against Pakistan on October 23

The washed-out warm-up encounter against New Zealand will not impact the Men in Blue as such as they have already played three matches on Australian soil before their Tt20 World Cup campaign.

India, who left for Australia on October 5, faced Western Australia XI in two T20 contests before facing the hosts and defending champions Australia at the Gabba on Monday, October 17.

Rohit Sharma and Co. are next scheduled to face arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening Super 12 encounter on Sunday, October 23, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The weather forecast for the highly-anticipated encounter does not look promising as there is a high chance of precipitation being predicted.

Will the weather make a significant impact at the T20 World Cup 2022? Let us know what you think.