Published: Jun 18, 2021, 02:58 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 18, 2021, 02:58 PM (IST)
Southampton: As expected, rain has shown its presence straightaway as the toss and the start of the much-awaited World Test Championship final at Ageas Bowl, Southampton on Friday has now been delayed. The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has just confirmed that the first session will not be played. This would come as a piece of bad news for fans, who have waited long to see the two cricketing giants lock horns at the biggest stage.
Even if play starts, given the forecast – it is likely to be a stop-start day. That never does any good to any player or team. This would be extremely dampening for cricket lovers.
Here is how fans reacted to it hilariously:
*First session washed out due to Rain in Southampton*
Le me who was waiting for the WTC Final from more than a Month 😭#WTCFinal #WTC21 #Rain pic.twitter.com/7D0xv15Tpd
Ravish Pandya🇮🇳 (@PandyaRavish) June 18, 2021
Rain will be the winner#WTC21 #WTCFinal21
(@ShanKiChay) June 18, 2021
Me to #rain today….😫😢😭#WTC2021final #WTC21 #WTCFinal21 pic.twitter.com/TN15GkPqGR
Krishna Kamekar (@KrishnaKamekar) June 18, 2021
#Rain #WTC21 #WTC #IND #NZ #NZvIND #NZvsIND #INDvNZ
ICC to Important Matches : pic.twitter.com/VIhgjplFyj
Manan Dave (@davemanan247) June 18, 2021
Both India and New Zealand earned their spot in WTC Final after claiming the top two spots in the points table. Virat Kohli and Co. topped the charts with a 72.2 per cent winning percentage while New Zealand came second with 70.
Meanwhile, India has already announced their playing XI for the summit clash on Thursday. The ICC number 2 ranked Test side decided to go with three pacers and two spinners despite the cloudy conditions in Southampton. The team management also backed senior pacer, Ishant Sharma,Rain t over Mohammed Siraj for the crucial clash.
Team India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
