The play has been called off on Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton due to rain.
“UPDATE – Unfortunately, play on Day 1 has been called off due to rains. 10.30 AM local time start tomorrow,” BCCI tweeted.
UPDATE – Unfortunately, play on Day 1 has been called off due to rains. 10.30 AM local time start tomorrow.#WTC21
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 18, 2021
The first session of the opening day of the World Test Championship final was already washed off. And with rain finally stopping in the second session, an inspection was set to take place at 3 pm local time — 7:30 pm IST.
The coin toss was also delayed owing to the rain. As captains, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson will compete for their first ICC trophy. However, the weather in Southampton is preventing the game from starting.
From June 18 to 22, India and New Zealand will face off in the inaugural World Test Championship final, a match that will have a huge impact on cricket around the world. It’s a historic match in Southampton as it’s the first time in the 144-year history of Test cricket that a championship match will be played.
New Zealand has gained fighting experience as a result of their 1-0 series victory over England. The two-match series came to a close on Sunday at Edgbaston, with the Blackcaps winning by eight wickets following a draw at Lord’s.
Team India, on the other hand, hasn’t played a competitive game since the end of March and has only played an intra-squad practice match while in quarantine.
Virat Kohli will be aiming for his first ICC trophy as captain, leading an excited Indian team fresh off victories in Australia and at home against England. Kane Williamson’s team, on the other hand, will be hoping to end their ICC title drought after reaching the finals of two of the last three ICC tournament title matches.
Where to watch?
Star Sports channels will provide live TV coverage of the match in multiple languages in India, and Hotstar will provide the live streaming of the WTC Final.
The squads for both the teams are-
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Will Young.