The biggest match of the Champions Trophy 2025, the final, will be played on 9th March at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. The two teams facing off in this grand showdown will be India and New Zealand. This will be their second encounter in this edition of the tournament. Earlier, they met in the final group stage match, where India emerged victorious. However, the final will bring immense pressure on both teams, as the trophy is at stake.
But the biggest question remains—if the final gets cancelled, which team will be crowned champion?
What Happens If the Final Is Cancelled?
So far, three matches in Champions Trophy 2025 have been washed out due to rain. However, for knockout matches, ICC makes every effort to ensure a result, with special rules different from the group-stage matches.
For this edition, both semi-finals had a reserve day, and the final also has one. This means that if the match cannot be completed on 9th March, it will resume on 10th March. However, ICC will try to finish the match on the scheduled day itself. If that is not possible, the match will continue from the same point on the reserve day.
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In the semi-finals, the rule was that if a match was cancelled, the team ranked higher in the group stage would qualify for the final. But for the final, this rule does not apply. If the final is washed out or cancelled due to rain or any other reason, the trophy will be shared, and both teams will be declared joint champions.
Additionally, ICC might use the Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) method to determine a winner, but for that, at least 25 overs per side must be played.
Has the Champions Trophy Final Ever Been Cancelled Before?
The Champions Trophy began in 1998, and only once has the final been cancelled. This happened in the 2002 edition when the final was set to be played between India and hosts Sri Lanka. However, persistent rain did not allow the match to be completed, and the trophy was shared.
At that time, a reserve day was in place, but back then, the match had to be restarted from scratch rather than continuing from the previous day.