The final of the World Test Championship (WTC) will now be played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton now and not at the Lord's Cricket Ground in London. The inaugural tournament final will be played from June 18 to 22, while 23 June will be a reserved day.
The decision has been taken in light of the rising Covid-19 situation. "The final will be played in Southampton keeping an eye on the COVID situation,” said BCCI vice-President Rajiv Shukla to news agency ANI.
India managed to book it’s place in the final of the WTC after they defeated England 3-1 in the home Test series. India finished on top of the WTC table with 72.2 percentage points.
New Zealand had booked its place in the final even before the start of the India vs England series. They went through as Australia decided to call off their NZ tour.
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Here is the ICC WTC Points Table:
ICC had tweeted: "That victory against England means India finish the league phase of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship with a fine view from the top of the table," after India’s 3-1 win over England.
Many fans are still unaware of the format and concept of the World Test Championship. It is a tournament that goes on like a league for two years where all the Test-playing nations play against each other as per their planned schedules.
The two teams which are at the top of the points table after two years qualify to play for the final of the WTC. This is the first-ever WTC final which is being hosted by England.
WTC was introduced to increase the excitement and anticipation in Test cricket.
Readers who are still confused about the format can read ABP News’ explanatory article about the World Test Championship in the link below.