CHENNAI: The much-anticipated Men’s T20 World Cup final between India and South Africa in Barbados could be affected by rain on Saturday with a tropical storm named Beryl moving towards the island.
According to a statement from Barbados Meteorological Services, a hurricane watch may be issued in the early hours of Saturday.
Scheduled to start at 10:30 AM local time, the summit clash might be affected by tropical showers. With a storm brewing in the Atlantic Ocean and heading towards Barbados, rain is forecast throughout the weekend.
According to windy.com, the island is expected to receive rain until the scheduled start, with a brief window where the skies clear up for a few hours.
The rains are expected to return by 1 PM and continue through the evening. That being said, the nature of the showers is unpredictable due to the tropical storm. According to Accuweather, the forecast reads, “thunderstorms in spots this evening followed by occasional rain and a thunderstorm late.”
The final has a reserve day on Sunday, but that does not look good either, with the Beryl storm expected to reach the shores late in the day. Some rain and thunderstorms are expected according to accuweather.com.
“Beryl is currently moving westward at 18 mph (30 km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h). The minimal central pressure is 1006 mb. Model consensus continues to track the centre of the system just south of Barbados early Monday, July 1st, 2024. Although there remains uncertainty regarding the intensity of the system in the coming days, some model guidance suggests that this system could develop into a hurricane before reaching Barbados,” the Barbados Met department statement read.
If the ICC is not able to conduct the final because of rain on both days, the trophy will be shared by India and South Africa.