India vs Scotland, 7th Match, Group D at Durban, , Sep 13 2007 - Match Result

8.35 pm local time Well it's official now. The match has been abandoned and India and Scotland share the points 1-1. This means that India must beat Pakistan tomorrow or lose by a margin small enough for them to have a better run-rate than Scotland in order to progress to the next round. And if it gets washed out tomorrow as well, India and Pakistan will go through to the next round.

Thank you all for your patience and your emails. Tomorrow could be a cracking day's cricket. Sri Lanka take on Kenya at the Wanderers, Australia play England in a make-or-break encounter at Newlands, and India play Pakistan at Kingsmead. This is George Binoy signing off, cheers.

8.27 pm It's coming down harder now. Rotten luck for all the patient fans who've waited through the rain.

8.15 pm No change in the weather in Durban. Play is extremely unlikely, says Rajesh.

"What about the fantasy cricket scores in the case of an abandoned match? Do the players get any credit at all?, asks Shrinivas. I don't think they do Shrinivas, very unfortunate because I had a few Indians in my team too.

"Twenty20 cricket is like reducing a game of baseball from nine innings to three innings. Or a game of basketball from four quarters to one quarter. In our search for time and instant gratification, what's next, a ten-over world cup? The quality of cricket being played is going down and the quantity is going way up. Bangladesh scored as many runs today in a Twenty20 game as much as they average in a test inning. Scary!," says Monty Merza.

8.10 pm It's still raining and it's pretty heavy. Steve Davis has said that 9.00 pm is the cut off time. The ground staff will need at least 25-30 minutes to get the ground ready by 9.00 pm. So if the rain doesn't stop by 8.30 pm local time, it is likely to be abandoned.

Sikander is wondering what will happen if all the matches in the group get washed out? Who will go through? I have no idea!!

8.02 pm Still raining at Kingsmead, there's a bit of mist as well.

"Why isn't the bowl-out rule being used here? It's like the penalty shootout in football isn't it? What if India-Pakistan is rained out tomorrow and today turns out to be a damp squib? India eliminated without a minute on the field?," asks Rahul.

A bowl-out can be used only in case of a tied game, not if the match is abandoned due to bad weather. And if both of India's matches are washed out, India will get a point from each game and go through to the next round because Scotland did not get a point against Pakistan.

7.55 pm local time "The rain has eased off very slightly, but still heavy enough for all covers to be around," says Rajesh.

Youtube has a video of a bowl-out. Worth a watch.

If you are wondering how the Twenty20 format came bout, read Andrew McGlashan's interview with Stuart Robertson, the man who devised Twenty20.

7.47 pm Still no improvement in the conditions. "What will happen if this match is abandoned? I know that both teams will get one point each. But how will the group be decided if India lose to Pakistan and both teams are on same points? Net Run Rate?," asks Mohit. Yes, net run-rate will be the deciding factor in that scenario.

"Does a 20-20 match have Powerplay and field restrictions?," asks Vaibhav. It does not have Powerplay but the fielding team can have only two fielders outside the 30-yard circle for the first six overs of the innings.

7.40 pm Still raining at Kingsmead. "What is a free hit?" asks Tushar. Well a free hit is awarded if a bowler bowls a front-foot no-ball. The batsman cannot be dismissed off the next delivery, except if he is run out. The fielding captain must retain the same field that he had for the no-ball unless it a different batsman is on strike.

7.27 pm "The rain has eased off a bit," says Rajesh. "The crowd is cheering, almost willing the groundstaff to do something about the covers but it's become heavier again."

I jumped the gun a little bit the last time but Cricinfo's Fantasy Cricket scores have been updated now. Go on, check them out.

7.20 pm Status quo at Kingsmead. Still raining and some locals are saying that it's unlikely that we'll get any play.

"What is a bowl-out?" asks Craig. Well it's a method of deciding a winner when a Twenty20 game ends in a tie (not abandoned, which will be the case if the rain doesn't stop today).

Here's an extract from the ICC handbook: "The nominated bowlers shall each bowl a delivery making a total of 10 deliveries (five from each team). The deliveries are taken alternatively by the teams. The bowlers must bowl in the same sequence as the list of players nominated and communicated by the team captains to the referee prior to the toss for the bowl out. The team with the most number of hits after five deliveries each shall be declared the winner.

"If, after both teams have bowled five deliveries, both have scored the same number of hits on the wicket, or have not scored any hits, a second series of deliveries must be started with the same players, subject to injury, and shall continue until one team has scored a hit more than the other from the same number of deliveries. That team shall be declared the winner."

There's been only one bowl-out in Twenty20 internationals so far. Click here to read Cricinfo's report on it.

7.07 pm It's still raining and it's pretty heavy at the moment. Not looking good I'm afraid.

6.57 pm It's raining again and back come the covers. This is a groundsman's nightmare. The rain is getting heavier as well. Overs will be reduced after seven more minutes. The cut-off time is 9.00 pm local time, so the first ball must be bowled by then if we are to get a game at all.

Just to clarify, if there is no play at all, there won't be a bowl-out and points will be shared 1-1. A bowl-out will take place only in case of a tie, not an abandoned game.

Scotland have retained the same XI that lost against Pakistan.

Scotland: 1 Ryan Watson (capt), 2 Fraser Watts, 3 Navdeep Poonia, 4 Gavin Hamilton, 5 Neil McCallum, 6 Dougie Brown, 7 Colin Smith (wk), 8 Majid Haq, 9 Craig Wright, 10 John Blain, 11 Dewald Nel.

Try Slogout, the new online cricket game from Cricinfo. Play now and pass time while it rains at Kingsmead.

6.28 pm Well Scotland have won the toss and Ryan Watson decided to bowl but everyone will have to wait a while longer. It's raining again and the groundstaff asked Dhoni to move away from the pitch so that they could cover it even as he was speaking to Rameez Raja. The big covers are coming on now, to cover the bowlers' run-up.

This is the fifth time, out of seven Twenty20 internationals in this tournament, that the team winning the toss has put the opposition in.

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6.26 pm Well the rain isn't going to stop us anymore. The umpires are pitching the stumps, the two captains are ready for the toss. Scotland have won the toss and will bowl.

6.24 pm Well the covers were coming off but the drizzle started again and the groundstaff are standing on the outfield, not sure whether to bring it back on or take it off. Meanwhile the rope trick has started in the outfield, to remove the water.

6.23 pm Massive cheers from a patient crowd. The covers are coming off and the umpires, Simon Taufel and Steve Davis, are making their way to the middle.

6.05 pm They were about to have a toss but the rain spoilt those plans. "The players are hanging around but the umpires rushed in under their umbrellas," says Rajesh.

Here's the Indian XI. Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh are making a comeback.

India: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Dinesh Karthik, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 RP Singh, 11 Sreesanth.

Mark Ramprakash was in the studio, talking about when Surrey were made to play a Five5 earlier this season against Sussex and reckons a quick Five5 would be no problem. "I don't know what the fuss is about. We've been told by the ECB we're entertainers; we've got to play. I nearly went out in a pair of football boots."

6.03 pm Well the rain has eased and the covers are coming off. Looks like it's going to be that kind of a day. We're going to get a toss soon.

5.58 pm The good news held for precisely three minutes. the rain is back, as are the covers. It's a light drizzle. The players still practising but the pitch and most of the square has been covered.

5.55 pm Excellent news. Play will start at 6.15 pm provided there's no more rain. No overs will be reduced so we'll get a full game.

5.45 pm The rain has stopped for the moment and the covers are coming off. There's still plenty of cloud cover. We'll bring you news of the start as soon as we have it.

"The Scots are out on the field in shorts, standing in a circle and practising their football skills," says Rajesh.

5.40 pm Well if the weather was bright and sunny the toss would have happened by now. But it's dank and damp and the start is most certainly going to be delayed.

5.32 pm The covers are still on the field. The entire square is being protected and it continues to rain at Kingsmead.

5.25 pm Hello everybody and welcome to the final game of the third day of the ICC world Twenty20. India are set to open their campaign against Scotland in Durban but all is not well at Kingsmead.

S Rajesh, Cricinfo's man at the ground, has this to say: "Wet weather threatens to disrupt India's first game of the World Twenty20. With less than 75 minutes for the play to start, sharp showers forced both teams to abandon their warm-ups and head indoors. The covers were brought out in a hurry to cover the entire square, and the overhead conditions looked threatening too: there was an even covering of dark clouds, and the forecast mentioned a 60% chance of showers in the evening.

"Both teams must bat a minimum of five overs to constitute a match. In case that doesn't happen, both teams will get a point each, and India will need to beat Pakistan to assure themselves of a place in the Super Eight Series. If India lose, net run rates will decide which of India or Scotland qualify."

India start as favourites but that counts for little after yesterday's upset when Zimbabwe toppled Australia, and Bangladesh sent West Indies home this morning. Check out Rajesh's preview for more information on the India-Scotland clash.

Most of the Indian squad have just finished an ODI series in England and the others arrived in South Africa from India. They haven't had time to play any warm-up Twenty20 games like all the other teams, barring England, have. Scotland used the lively conditions and bowled well against Pakistan. It wouldn't be a wise idea to write them off.