Heavy Rain in Southampton, India vs NZ WTC Final Set for Delays

File: Stewards stand alongside rain covers on the pitch after play was stopped due to rain during the World Cup cricket match between South Africa and the West Indies at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

(Photo: PTI)

While the focus is mostly around the big names ahead of the World Test championship final in Southampton between India and New Zealand, the weather is a cause of concern. Day 1 of the WTC Final is expected to be heavily affected by rain.

"Friday will be a cloudy day with long periods of heavy and thundery rain building in from the south from early morning. There’s a yellow weather warning in place for thunderstorms active for Southampton from 6am tomorrow to 6am Saturday morning," said a spokesperson for UK Met department.

"Some areas could see up to 40mm of rain across the day, although predictability on precise locations is low due to the nature of the weather conditions. The rain should ease slightly in Southampton overnight on Friday in to Saturday morning, leaving a mostly dry Saturday for the area. Highs of 17C on Friday."

In fact, the weather forecast through the Test is quite worrying as there is rain predicted on all the days, even on the reserve day that the ICC have kept.

India announced their playing XI on the eve of the game while New Zealand’s is likely to be announced at the toss.

India go into the match that starts on Friday, 18 June, having played no cricket for over a month while the Kiwis beat England 1-0 in a two-Test series this June. The two teams had last faced off in this format last year when New Zealand had beaten India 2-0 at their home.

India XI

1. Rohit Sharma
2. Shubman Gill
3. Cheteshwar Pujara
4. Virat Kohli (captain)
5. Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain)
6. Rishabh Pant
7. Ravindra Jadeja
8. R Ashwin
9. Jasprit Bumrah
10. Mohammad Shami
11. Ishant Sharma.

(With various inputs)