By : Dheeraj Upadhyay
The much-awaited ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand would take place at Hampshire Bowl in Southampton starting June 18 where the two teams will show their cricketing skills to outsmart each other to lift the coveted trophy.
How did India and New Zealand make qualify for the WTC final?
ICC WTC was played in every two-year cycle and the two teams securing maximum points won during each series, with each series consisting of 120 points qualify for the final. India finished at the top of the WTC points table with 12 wins in 17 matches while New Zealand won 7 out of 7 matches it played.
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India qualified for the final by virtue of its 2-1 series win in Australia and 3-1 win over England at home along with the advantage of the rule change. India topped the charts with 520 points and a leading point’s percentage of 72.20 percent.
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The rule change also meant the Kiwis (420, 70 percent) pipped England (442 points, 61.42 percent) with their superior points percentage. Meanwhile, Australia finished second and missed due to the deduction of four points following its slow over-rate during the Boxing Day Test against India last December.
Prize Money of India VS New Zealand WTC finals
Both the winners and runners-up of the WTF final team will rake in the moolah. ICC’s acting CEO Geoff Allardice has announced that winners between India Vs NewZealand will get prize money of $ 1.6 million (approx 11.7 crores) while the runner-up team will get $800,000 (approx 5.85 crores).
What if final ends in a draw?
ICC in their latest statement has said that in case of a draw joint winner will be declared and both India and New Zealand will share the trophy. In case of a draw, the winners’ prize money amount will be divided between the two sides.
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Duke balls for WTC finals
The match will be played with Grade 1 Dukes red cricket balls.
What time will the World Test Championship final begin?
The India vs New Zealand final will begin at 3:30 pm IST (11 am local time) on June 18 while the toss will take place at 3 pm IST.
Where to watch the World Test Championship final live?
One can watch the World Test Championship final at Star Sports and it will be streamed live on Hotstar also.
Cricket fans across the world are waiting to see this exciting contest between world’s two best test teams.
