Sports lovers, especially the youth engrossed in football, cricket, tennis and many other sports felt so disappointed when they realised that there would be no tournaments and matches in any sports, until the end of the pandemic. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Japanese government took the decision that there would be no Olympics this year and shifted the schedule to the next year. Additionally, the Indian Premier League and BCCI took the decision to postpone IPL till further notice. However, this is not only the case with track and field events and cricket, but also with football. Millions of supporters of respective football teams of the European League were disheartened when the committee announced to postpone all the matches.
As it is said ‘blessing in disguise’, a new form of cricket was inaugurated on 18th July in South Africa which is termed as ‘3T Cricket’. In an extremely unconventional match-up, the three sides will all take in one match taking place over the course of the day.
What are the rules of the 3T format?
Such is the uniqueness of the tournament that its rules have left cricket fans around the globe confused. In the essence, each team consists of eight players. All the three sides will complete in one match consisting a total of 36 overs as against the original day-night match of 100 overs in total. This format is neither similar to a day-night match nor does it resemble a T20 format, but the essence is the same. It is about entertainment and fun with a message and a cause to convey.
There will be two halves of 18 overs each and a team will play only for 6 overs against the other team in the first half and 6 overs with the third team in the second half.
Little confusing right? Here’s a better way to understand. As there are more than two teams, a toss is not possible. Hence the order of batting and bowling will be decided by a random draw. Say for example there are 3 teams – A, B and C. In the draw the order of batting states that team A will bat first then B and then C in the first half. Similarly, for the bowling draw, either team B or C will bowl against team A. If team C bowls first, then team B will sit in the dugout for the first 6 overs. Then team B will bat and team A will immediately bowl for the next 6 overs. Then, team C will bat and team B will bowl for the last 6 overs of the first half while Team A will sit.
In the second half, the team who scored the highest in the first half will bat first. If in case of a tie, such that A and B had the same total in the first half, then team B will bat first in the second half as it batted second in the first half. Also, no team can bowl the same team in the two halves.
Interestingly, in the case of a team losing seven wickets, the 'not-out' batsman can continue batting alone but can only score runs in even numbers like two, four, and six. However, if a team loses their first seven wickets in the first six overs of their innings then their innings will end immediately and the non-striker will not get to continue his innings.
Of the combined 12 overs, a side has to bowl, one bowler is allowed a maximum of three overs each. Moreover, one team has to complete their entire quota of 12 overs with a single-ball. After the match, the team with the most runs will be awarded a gold position, the second-most with Silver and the third one with a bronze. In the case of two sides being level on runs, they will compete in a super-over to determine who gets the gold.
To encapsulate, I think the new form of cricket will be very exciting especially for the young generation. This new format might not get the same appreciation as the T20 format got as there are many spectators who believe that 5-day test matches and day-night cricket matches are the sole and classic forms of cricket. But in the long run, if this kind of format is introduced in India then it is a high probability that a world cup or any other ICC tournaments under this section can be held but will take 3 to 4 years at least.
We have seen a shift in trends, where cricket lovers and enthusiasts are preferring a format that consumes less time while the work-load from other institutions and corporates are increasing. Similarly, cricket is now being considered as an entertainment sport rather.
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