The Indian cricket team will aim to end their ICC title drought when they square off against Australia in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final 2023 to be played at the Kennington Oval in London.
The WTC final 2023 will be held from June 7 to 11, with June 12 kept as a reserve day.
Under the leadership of captain Rohit Sharma, Team India will look to clinch their first major ICC trophy since winning the Champions Trophy in England in 2013.
India will be playing their second consecutive World Test Championship final. The Virat Kohli-led India earlier reached the final of the inaugural edition of the WTC before going down to eventual champions New Zealand by eight wickets at the Rose Bowl in Southampton in 2021.
Rohit Sharma’s men qualified for back-to-back WTC finals after finishing second in the WTC 2021-23 points table with 58.8 points per cent (PCT). They registered 10 wins, five losses and three draws in 18 Tests.
On the other hand, the Australian cricket team will feature in their maiden WTC final. Led by skipper Pat Cummins, Australia have been the most dominant team in the WTC 2021-23 cycle.
They finished as table-toppers during the second edition of the WTC, having won 11 of the 19 Tests with 66.67 PCT.
Earlier this year, India and Australia faced each other in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy held in India. The hosts won the four-match series 2-1.
What happens if the WTC final 2023 ends in a draw?
If the World Test Championship (WTC) final 2023 ends in a draw, both India and Australia will be declared joint winners.
This means that Australia topping the WTC 2021-23 standings does not mean that they will get the title in case of a draw despite being the first placed team in the points table.
Furthermore, in case of a tie, both teams will share the trophy as no tie-breakers will be implemented.
Keeping in mind the weather conditions in the United Kingdom, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has also kept a reserve day in order to compensate for any loss of overs.
Should there be a complete washout on any of the first five days, the reserve day will come into play on June 12.
Interestingly, the previous edition of the WTC final between India and New Zealand in 2021 headed into the reserve day after there was no action on Day 1 and Day 4 due to rain.
Photo credit: Alamy
