Southampton: The thing that was feared has happened. Unfortunately for cricket fans, the play on Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC Final) has been cancelled. The ICC informed this after there was persistent rain and any sort of cricket was not possible in these conditions.
This has opened a door for a reserve day. The final will be continued till June 23, 2021. The umpires had an inspection at 7 pm IST and reached to this decision due to damp weather conditions ad persistent rain.
Fans around the world, who were eagerly waiting for the WTC Final were frustrated to see the turn of events. Many blamed the ICC for organising the event in England where it usually rains during this period.
Many fans and former cricketers were waiting for this grand event as the match will decide the champion of world Test cricket. A tournament that will further give context to Test cricket. Test series' that were being played in isolation, will have a larger motive, that of the World Test Championship final. All this excitement turned into frustration as the toss was delayed due to a continuous downpour in Southampton.
India Playing XI for WTC Final 2021: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah