History In Making, Who Will Win First-Ever World Test Championship?

History In Making, Who Will Win First-Ever World Test Championship?

The stage is all set for the first-ever test championship final where two fine teams, India and New Zealand will take on take each other on the 18th of June, 2021 to win the title of best in tests. Significantly, International Cricket Council (ICC) to promote test cricket started the inaugural edition of the ICC Men World Test Championship in 2019. According to the rules which were set earlier, every team would have to play 6 test series, which means the team will play three series at home and three series away. Teams would be rewarded points for winning the matches. The top two teams with the most points in the points table would play each other in the final.

But, Covid-19 hit the world at the same time and many teams weren’t able to complete their six series. Thus, ICC introduced a new factor called Percentage of points (PCT) which would decide the top two teams. The final was set to play in the year 2020 but due to the covid-19 pandemic it shifted and now, it’s finally happening and we have the two cricket giants facing each other in the finals. India with the most PCT is on the top of the list followed by New Zealand on the second.

Date, Time, and Everything you need to know!

Venue

The final of the World Test Championship will be played at Rose Bowl stadium in Southampton. Earlier the final was scheduled to organize at Lords but due to a better bio-bubble system, the match is shifted to Southampton. 

Date

The five-day match will kick off on the 18th of June, 2021. The match will be played with the red ball. 

Time

According to Indian Standard Time (IST), the match will begin at 3:30 pm. 

Rules and Regulations

For the final, ICC has announced some new rules. They are:

• There will be a reserve day in case of loss of time on the regular days of the match. The reserve day will only be used when the time lost can’t be overcome in the normal days. 
• If the match ends at the draw in the given five days, both teams will be held champions. No provision of an additional day. 
• During the referral, the fielding team’s captain or batsman can confirm with the umpire whether an attempt is made to play the ball or not. It can help in taking DRS.
• The third umpire will check short runs and no balls after every ball.
• In the case of LBW review, the height margin has been changed to the top of the stumps. 

Teams

India

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

Standby players- Avesh Khan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Arzan Nagwaswalla, Prasidh Krishna.

New Zealand

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

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