Southampton: The English weather continued to play spoilsport in the inaugural World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand as fourth day of the clash was abandoned without a ball being bowled, due to continuous drizzle, here on Monday.
‘Day four of the #WTC21 Final has been abandoned due to persistent rain,’ the ICC said in a tweet.
This was the second time in the WTC Final that a whole day has been lost after no play was possible also on the opening day.
Monday’s washout means that the match will extend into the designated reserve day on Wednesday if required, with the weather forecast for the fifth and potential sixth days of the Test significantly improved.
‘An announcement on the reserve day will be made during Tuesday’s play,’ said ICC in a statement.
New Zealand will resume on 101/2 in their first innings, still 116 runs behind, with captain Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor at the crease.
Earlier on Day 3, India lost seven wickets and could add only 71 runs to their overnight score before they were bundled out for 217.
Kyle Jamieson was the pick of the bowlers for Kiwis, taking five wickets for 31 runs while Ajinkya Rahane was the highest run-scorer for India with 49 runs to his name.
Play is scheduled to start at 1030 hrs BST on Tuesday, with an additional 60 minutes of lost playing time (a minimum of 15 overs) added from the start of the scheduled last hour of play.
‘Additional time can be added if all overs are not completed in the scheduled time, and an extra 30 minutes can follow if requested by either captain, if the umpires believe that the additional time could bring a definite result on the day,’ said ICC.