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What if the WTC 2023 final ends in a Draw?

With the IPL now being done and dusted, the focus now shifts back to international Cricket, and the next major cricketing event on the calendar is the WTC Final game between rivals India and Australia that is set to commence in less than a week at the iconic Oval in London.

India will be in their 2nd successive WTC Final, having already reached the final n the inaugural edition, eventually losing to the champions New Zealand. Here in this WTC cycle that happened between the period July 2021 till March 2023, India finished 2nd in the points table after fierce competition from the likes of Sri Lanka and South Africa for the final spot.

On the other hand, Australia sailed through to the final game after having a dominant run in the said cycle, including their emphatic Ashes win at home last year. Their only blemish in their memorable run long way was the away series loss to India a couple of months, but even then, they put up a great fight. So they are a really strong unit going into this epic match.

As a result, the two powerhouses of Test cricket will lock horns for the title cash at the Oval, which starts on June 7th. It is expected to be a mouth-watering clash as these 2 sides have been in brilliant form in Test cricket for the past couple of years. After all, India is the No.1 ranked Test side while Australia sits pretty at the 2nd position, and fittingly, they will face each other in what can be called the summit clash of Test cricket.

So what happens if the WTC Final clash between these 2 top sides ends in a draw? What would be the consequence of the same, and how will Victor be decided? We will answer all these questions here in this article.

What will happen if the WTC final ends in a draw?

As mentioned, Australia finished at the pole position in the 2021-23 World Test Championship cycle, but that doesn’t mean that they will clinch the trophy if the final match ends in a draw in London. It happened in the last edition as well as the rain interrupted most parts of the contest in the first 5 days of the Test match, and the game had to go to the reserve day (6th day) to decide the winner. Had it been a draw, both teams would share the trophy and would have been announced joint winners. But it was not as New Zealand emerged victorious on the 6th day of the Test match to be called the solo inaugural World Test Champions.

Similarly, should the game between India and Australia end in a draw, both teams would jointly take home the trophy, and both will be called the Test Champions. As such, no tiebreakers are scheduled as in limited-overs cricket in the form of a super over.

The Reserve Day for Rain Interruption

Likewise, there is a reserve day allotted for this special Test match as well, should rain threaten to interrupt the Test match significantly. We know that a Test match happens as a 5-day affair with a maximum of 90 overs to be bowled, and a day’s play is 6 hours spread across 3 different sessions. The fielding team can take an extra 30 minutes to complete the quota of the day’s play.

Coming to the reserve day in WTC Final, there is provision for the same in the big match. But that doesn’t mean it will apply to the final clash in all cases of a drawn Test. If the match goes uninterrupted due to weather or any other reasons and still ends in a draw, then the reserve day won’t be effective. For the reserve day to happen, 90 or more overs should have been lost cumulatively in the first 5 days of the Test match. For example, a reserve day is automatically added if a day’s play is lost due to weather or other unforeseen reasons.

And in case the game still ends in a draw, India and Australia will be declared joint winners even after the reserve day. So either way, a side should win to crown a solo champion at the end of the WTC Final match.

The Oval pitch is known to be a batting paradise with a good amount of help for both the pacers and the spinners to enjoy as the game progresses. It should be a great contest between bat and ball, with the 2 strongest possible Test teams locking horns. And it shouldn’t be a surprise if they don’t give an inch to each other and the game ends in a draw, nothing separating them.

Squads

India Squad for WTC Final: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, KS Bharat, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Umesh Yadav.

Reserves: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav

Australia squad for WTC Final: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Josh Inglis, Todd Murphy, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.

Stand-by player: Jimmy Pierson (For Josh Inglis)

Read Now: Team India’s Probable Playing XI for WTC final 2023

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