India and New Zealand are battling it out in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in Southampton in a match that has been heavily affected by rain from the first day. After the first day got washed out completely by the rain, the International Cricket Council had to bring the reserve 6th day into play.
The forecast for Day 4 (Monday, June 21, 2021) doesn’t really look great either. As the weather reports suggest, the rain is likely to play a spoilsport once again in Southampton. The humidity is expected to be around 87 per cent.
Earlier, New Zealand after winning the toss invited India to bat first and bowled out the Virat Kohli-led side for 217 in the first innings. Fast bowler Kyle Jamieson was on a roll once again against India, especially on Day 3 after he scalped a fifer which included the important wicket of Kohli.
The right-handed batsman was trapped in front of the stumps by Jamieson to get dismissed for 44 which meant that the Indian captain failed to add any runs to his overnight score on Day 3. Apart from Kohli, it was his deputy Ajinkya Rahane who showed some resistance and scored 49 before getting out to Wagner.
Trent Boult and Wagner bagged a couple of wickets apiece during the course while Tim Southee had one. Later, India removed New Zealand openers Devon Conway and Tom Latham before the stumps were called early due to bad light.
New Zealand were 54/2, trailing India by 116 runs at the end of the day’s play with Conway being among runs yet again. The left-handed opener notched up a half-century before he was undone by Ishant Sharma.