The ICC on Friday gave an answer to a conundrum all cricket fans had, what if India & New Zealand draw the WTC Final. According to the new playing condition rules, if there’s a draw, the trophy will be jointly shared by the Kiwis & the Indians. The nature of Test games is such that draws are sometimes an inevitable consequence, add to that the factor of rains that loom over the host nation, ICC had to come up with a rule that is both fair and rational.
Background
The International Cricket Council announced the playing conditions for the World Test Championship final which is scheduled to take place on June 18 in Hampshire Bowl, Southampton. India has been on a neat form after beating Australia in Australia 2-1 earlier this year and then defeating England in India 3-1. Meanwhile New Zealand has also defeated giants and have been on an impeccable form. It also beat India 2-0 in India the last time the two sides met.
Also read: India qualifies for ICC WTC final; Clinches series against England with 3-1 margin
Details
On June 18, the in-form Indian side will lock horns with the equally in-form New Zealand at the Hampshire Bowl, Southampton. Before the teams do so, the ICC released the playing conditions for the first ever World Test Championship final.
According to the ICC, if both the teams draw the match or the game ends in a tie, the trophy will be handed to both the finalists. Further, the ICC also announced that June 23 has been slated as the reserve day. The reserve day will compensate for the lost time during the 5 regular days of the final that will be from 18th of June to 22nd.
The ICC’s statement said that-
“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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Other Playing Conditions laid out by the ICC for the WTC Final
In the final following rules, which have already come into effect in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League Series that’s currently held between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh:
1) Grade 1 Duke Ball will be made use of in the decider.
2) Any call of ‘short-run’ by the on-field Umpire will be reviewed by the third umpire automatically and before the next ball is bowled the decision will be communicated back to the on-field umpire.
3) Fielding captain or dismissed batsman may approach the Umpire to confirm whether an attempt has actually been made to play the ball before asking for a player review for LBWs.
4) In LBW DRS reviews, wicket zone’s height margin has been increased to the absolute top of the stumps to ensure that Umpire’s Call margin around the stumps for both height and width is same as the Umpire on field.
WTC Final: R. Ashwin may end up as highest wicket taker in World Test Championship
India’s lethal spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin may end up the highest wicket taker in the entire World Test Championship cycle as he’s just 3 wickets behind the current highest wicket taker Pete Cummins. Australia’s pace expert Cummins has picked up 70 wickets in 17 Tests and he’s followed closely by Ashwin who has scalped 67 wickets in 13 Tests. Since Australia has already been knocked out of the WTC, Ashwin has no major competition and can achieve the feat easily.
WTC Final: Team India sweats hard ahead of the final
Getting stronger each day! 💪💪#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/0bZFml1gxL
— BCCI (@BCCI) May 26, 2021
Although the Indian side are still quarantined, the men in blue are making the most out of the situation by taking to the gym. Recently the BCCI shared a video on its Twitter handle where Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant, Ishant Sharma and others were seen toiling hard in the gym. The team would need to continue on its efforts to be in the best shape as the journey ahead is a treacherous one with the World Test Championship Final and the series against England following that.
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