The tournament was introduced by ICC to contextualize Test cricket. It featured nine of the 12 Test-playing countries, who played in over 25 series, starting from August 1, 2019, during Australia and England's Ashes series at Edgbaston.

On the WTC points table, India has 520 points from 6 series that covered 12 Test wins, 4 losses, and a single draw. New Zealand concluded with 420 points from 5 series, where they recorded 7 Test wins and 4 losses.

The covid-19 pandemic has jolted the sports schedule all around the globe. Many tournaments got canceled or postponed. It also made ICC modify the points allocation system from scores obtained by wins and draws to percentage points. Considering all the new changes, both India and New Zealand maintained the top spots and made it to the WTC Final. They will play at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton for the ultimate clash to decide the winner.

Sunil Gavaskar was asked if sharing the trophy in case of a draw is the right idea. "In Test matches, there is a provision for a draw so yes, sharing a trophy is fine."

Have a look at the Playing Conditions for the WTC Final-

In case of a draw, both teams will be announced as the joint champions of the event. Players will use Grade 1 Dukes cricket balls throughout the test series.

Short Runs – The Third Umpire will automatically review calls for a 'short run' by the On-field Umpire and give the decision to the On-field Umpire before the next ball is played.

Player Reviews – The fielding captain/dismissed batsman can approach the on-field umpire to confirm if a genuine attempt was made to play the ball before initiating an LBW review.

DRS Reviews – For LBW reviews, the height margin of the wicket zone is increased to the top of the stumps to secure the same umpire's call margin around the stumps for both height and width.

Reserve day – June 23 has been kept as a reserve day. It will be considered if net playing time (30 hours of play i.e., six hours a day) is lost due to any reason. It is to compensate for the lost time or overs, and not to obtain a result.

The Journey to WTC final

India:

October 2019, West Indies v India – India won 2-0

November 2019, India v South Africa – India won 3-0

November 2019, India v Bangladesh – India won 2-0

February 2020, New Zealand v India – India lost 0-2

December-January 2021, Australia v India – India won 2-1

February-March 2021, India v England – India won 3-1

New Zealand:

August 2019, Sri Lanka v New Zealand – Series drawn 1-1

December-January 2019-20, Australia v New Zealand – New Zealand lost 0-3

February 2020, New Zealand v India – New Zealand won 2-0

December 2020, New Zealand v West Indies – New Zealand won 2-0

December-January 2020-21, New Zealand v Pakistan – New Zealand won 2-0

Winning Prize:

Winners – USD 1.6 million

Runners-up – USD 800,000

Tie/Draw – USD 1.2 million each

Watch WTC Cricket Broadcast and Online Live Streaming-

India: Star Sports Network, Jio TV, Disney+Hotstar VIP

Pakistan: PTV Sports

New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ, Sky Go App

England: Sky Sports

South Africa: SuperSport

Australia: Fox Cricket, Foxtel

USA: ESPN+, Hotstar

Catch ball-by-ball coverage, latest scoops and updates about the India and New Zealand Team online. Now watch live match streaming of WTC Final on https://isports247.net/