When the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to host the World Test Championship (WTC) final at a neutral venue and chose England, one thing that came to people's mind was RAIN!
The 'showers of blessing' have been anything but a spoilsport in the finals as it not only disappointed players of India and New Zealand but also fans of the sport.
What started off as an exciting contest, soon ended in a dreaded situation as the first day of the WTC Final at Southampton was completely washed out. The second day saw only 64.4 overs being bowled while the third day was the longest so far with 76.3 overs being bowled by both the teams together.
Unfortunately, Day four of the WTC Final was also abandoned due to persistent rain. India went to stumps on Day 5 at 64 for 2, leading New Zealand by 32 runs.
Now the reserve day will come into force with the lost hours to be played on Day 6 - June 23.
So what does the 'Reserve Day' mean for both India and New Zealand?
With more than two days lost in the final clash, both teams are left with just a day - the 'reserve day', to find the first World Test Champion nation.
"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," ICC had mentioned in a release while announcing the playing conditions for the WTC final.
"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," according to the ICC release.
Reserve Day rules explained:
The reserve day will start at 03:00 PM IST and the maximum duration of play is a minimum of 330 minutes plus the last hour. A maximum of 98 overs will be bowled including 15 overs in the mandatory last hour. The on-field umpires will signal the start of the mandatory last hour.
If play is suspended for any other reason than the normal intervals before the start of the final hour, then playing time will be extended to make up for the time lost. The WTC mace will be shared between two sides if the game ends in a stalemate after 98 overs of play.
