WTC Final: Draw or tie will see both teams crowned joint winners

As the World Test Championship (WTC) final looms large, there has been a development that answers the query of what happens if the match were to end in a draw.

The ICC confirmed that a draw or a tie would mean both India and New Zealand sharing the honors.

It was also announced that a reserve day, after five days of the Test, will be available during the WTC final should a situation arise. However, the ICC clarified that it would not be used if a 'positive result' was not achieved after five complete days of play.

"The playing conditions confirm that a draw or a tie will see both teams crowned as joint winners as well as the allocation of a Reserve Day to make up for any lost time during the regular days of the Final – scheduled to be played from 18 to 22 June, with 23 June set aside as the Reserve Day. Both of these decisions were made in June 2018, prior to the commencement of the ICC World Test Championship.

"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 said in a statement.

The inaugural ICC WTC Final is all set to start on June 18 between both the teams in Southampton. Prior to this, the Kiwi side will play a two-match Test series against England.

World Test Championship Final playing conditions announced https://t.co/ku0FTaSAeL via @ICC

— ICC Media (@ICCMediaComms) May 28, 2021

Following their 3-1 series triumph over England at home earlier this year, Team India finished as the No.1 side in the WTC points table with 72.2 percentage points, thereby booking a date with Kane Williamson's men in the summit WTC clash.

Upon completion of the WTC, India will take on England in a grueling five-match Test series starting August 4.

A separate Indian squad sans the big names will tour Sri Lanka in the meantime for a limited series comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

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WTC Squads

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).

Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Doug Bracewell, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, and Will Young.