Are there any chances of rain in the WTC 2023 final between India and Australia?
All eyes will be on the weather as India and Australia gear up for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) at the Kennington Oval, starting today.
The last time India played in the WTC final two years ago, rain played an important part in Southampton. New Zealand pacers made excellent use of the overcast conditions to trouble the Indian batters. The Kiwis eventually won the match by eight wickets and took home the mace.
It is unlikely to be the case this time around. There is no rain forecast for the next five days in London, with very less cloud cover. However, it will be chilly for the players with the temperature hovering on the lower side. It will vary between 17 and 20 degrees Celsius, although, the real feel will be two to three degrees lesser than the original temperature.
If rain plays a spoilsport during the course of the match, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has set a reserve sixth day to reach the result in the WTC final.
It will be an intriguing contest between two of the best Test teams in the world. While India have had the best of Australia in recent times, Pat Cummins and Co. are no pushovers. They finished as the table-toppers and will put everything on the line to take the mace home.
India and Australia squads for WTC final
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, and David Warner.
Standby players: Mitch Marsh and Matthew Renshaw.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, and Ishan Kishan (wk).
Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, and Suryakumar Yadav.