India vs South Africa: Heavy rain hits D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai hours before start of Women’s World Cup final

According to accuweather.com website, the weather was likely to stay clear ahead of the scheduled start of play at 3 PM. However, there is a possibility that the rain clouds could intensify between the three-hour spell between 4 PM and 7 PM, with showers likely to peak between 6 and 7 PM.

Barring the opening match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, every game at Navi Mumbai has been affected by rain. The India versus New Zealand fixture was reduced to 49 overs per side in the first innings before being reduced to 44 overs in the second innings during the visitors’ chase.

The next match between India and Bangladesh was stopped a number of times due to persistent rain at the venue and was eventually abandoned during India’s chase in the second innings. Rain also made a brief appearance in the early stages of the India versus Australia semi-final, but it did not lead to any reduction in overs.

There is a reserve day for the final on Monday in case rain washes out play completely and does not help produce a result on Sunday. The D.Y.Patil Stadium outfield is sand-based, which helps in quick absorption of water and thereby permits play to start quickly once the rain stops and the ground is dried quickly.