The first session of Day 1 of the much-awaited inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand has been officially been washed out due to the continuous drizzle at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. According to the weather forecast, there are very slim chances of play happening on the first day of the Test championship final.
Tweeting about the weather update, BCCI wrote: “Update: Unfortunately there will be no play in the first session on Day 1 of the ICC World Test Championship final. #WTC21.”
Update: Unfortunately there will be no play in the first session on Day 1 of the ICC World Test Championship final. #WTC21
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 18, 2021
Earlier, India’s spin spearhead Ravichandra Ashwin shared the view of Ageas Bowl as it continued raining. “The camera also has a raincoat,” wrote Ashwin on Instagram while sharing a video of the ground. His wife Prithi Narayanan also took to Twitter to share the video of the ground and wrote, “Pouring down #WTCFinal.”
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As per the weather forecast, rainstorms are excepted on all five days of the game, that’s why ICC has added a reserve day on June 23 but in case of a no-result, the Test Championship will be shared.
In a press release regarding the playing conditions, ICC said, “The Reserve Day has been scheduled to ensure five full days of play, and it will only be used if lost playing time cannot be recovered through the normal provisions of making up lost time each day. There will be no additional day’s play if a positive result is not achieved after five full days of play and the match will be declared a draw in such a scenario.”
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India’s playing XI for WTC final: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammed Shami
Here is how Twitter reacted to the delay:
If met forecast suggests appalling weather in Southampton next few days should ICC defer WTC by some days? India v Eng series doesn’t start till Aug 4, NZ have no immediate intnl commitments either. Radical move & logistical nightmare but will ensure a final@ICC @BCCI @BLACKCAPS
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) June 18, 2021
Only one man can keep rain away from Southampton. #WTCFinal https://t.co/i5e5tUaoOR pic.twitter.com/TiHoeshfy3
— Sritama (@cricketpun_duh) June 18, 2021
Scenes at Southampton where players are trying to avoid the rain.#WTCFinal https://t.co/u2xQbdlNSm
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) June 18, 2021
The ICC should've known the English condition and after what happened in the first stage of 2019 World Cup, there wasn't any necessity to go with England again for WTC final. It just irritates everyone when you wait for months and then rain spoils the event.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 18, 2021
What a waste @ICC & @BCCI Can't even plan such an important final in a better way. #EnglishWeather sucks for Cricket. All the mood of the final is gone to ashes. We could have played in #Australia or #SouthAfrica. Better watch #EURO2020 🤢
— Vivek Malhotra (@vivek__malhotra) June 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/kyaaboltitu/status/1405803989396987905?s=20
https://twitter.com/HitKandoriya/status/1405803202654527493?s=20
khatam tata bye bye pic.twitter.com/aX2nN3vXkE
— ALLU🐍 (@ind_Cyborg) June 18, 2021
