ICC announces playing conditions for WTC final between India and New Zealand

The International Cricket Council has announced the playing conditions for the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand which will take place at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton from June 18.

India and New Zealand will be crowned as joint winners in case of a draw or tie. Reserve Day (23 June) will be available to make up for loss of playing time in case there is rain.

“The playing conditions confirm that a draw or a tie will see both teams crowned as joint winners as well as the allocation of a Reserve Day to make up for any lost time during the regular days of the Final – scheduled to be played from 18 to 22 June, with 23 June set aside as the Reserve Day. Both of these decisions were made in June 2018, prior to the commencement of the ICC World Test Championship.

“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,” the ICC said in a statement.

Meanwhile, India had finished at the top of the points table with 12 wins from 17 matches with a win percentage of 72.2. On the other hand, New Zealand won seven matches and had a win percentage of 70 to finish in second place.

The Kiwis will also play two Test matches against England before the World Test Championship final. Thus, the Kane Williamson-led team will be able to get acclimatise to the English conditions.

WTC Squads India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).

Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Doug Bracewell, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, and Will Young.