Southampton [UK]: The start of the opening day's play in the much-awaited World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand looks set to get delayed as it is drizzling in Southampton. The square at the Ageas Bowl has been covered and the officials are inspecting the ground conditions. Taking to Twitter, BCCI wrote: "Good morning from Southampton. We are just over an hour away from the scheduled start of play but it continues to drizzle here. The match officials are on the field now. #WTC21." Good morning from Southampton. We are just over an hour away from the scheduled start of play but It continues to drizzle here. The match officials are on the field now. ☔ #WTC21 pic.twitter.com/Kl77pJIJLo — BCCI (@BCCI) June 18, 2021 Earlier, India's spin spearhead R. Ashwin shared the view of Ageas Bowl as it continued raining. "The camera also has a raincoat," wrote Ashwin on Instagram while sharing a video of the ground. His wife Prithi Narayanan also took to Twitter to share the video of the ground and wrote, "Pouring down #WTCFinal." Earlier Kevin Pietersen also tweeted, "World Test Championship to start in UK today & it's hammering it down!" The forecast which is not looking optimistic for now can change at the drop of a hat as the weather in England is unpredictable at times. Rain is forecast on all five days of the game and that saw the ICC add a reserve day to the playing conditions. "The Reserve Day has been scheduled to ensure five full days of play, and it will only be used if lost playing time cannot be recovered through the normal provisions of making up lost time each day. There will be no additional day's play if a positive result is not achieved after five full days of play and the match will be declared a draw in such a scenario," the ICC release on the playing conditions read.
