The mega event that the cricketing fraternity was waiting for has been marred by the rain gods at Southampton. The WTC Final between India and New Zealand touted as the biggest Test match of the year is yet to take off following the relentless rain in England.
The toss, which was scheduled to take place at 2:30 PM IST, is yet to happen and with each passing minute, it’s very likely that the whole day has been washed out. There is a silver lining, however – since its an ICC event, there is a reserve day in store for us.
But the weather forecast for the remaining days isn’t particularly pleasant, and if the much-hyped contest ends in a wash-out, in other words, a draw, the two teams will share the trophy for the inaugural edition of the WTC.
In the meantime, fans on social media have been engaged in some fun on the sidelines. An epic meme-fest has started, with people mocking the ICC and the English weather. To add to this, Wasim Jaffer, who is usually very active on Twitter with his memes and banter, had a meme to share on the dire situation at hand.
Jaffer, a very popular figure amongst his fans, tagged Dinesh Karthik in a post and shared a meme that said: “The nation wants to know when will it stop raining in Southampton.”
Karthik, who is currently in Southampton as part of the commentary panel for the WTC Final, responded back to Jaffer with another meme that said: “Saturday ko aana haan” – which roughly translates to “Come back on Saturday”.
#WTCFinal2021 https://t.co/TBBPDXRkV5 pic.twitter.com/GhrdpWGz5C
— DK (@DineshKarthik) June 18, 2021
First day’s play of WTC final called off
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that the first day’s play of the ICC World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand at the Rose Bowl in Southampton has been called off.
The BCCI took to Twitter to share the unfortunate news with the fans. They wrote:
UPDATE – Unfortunately, play on Day 1 has been called off due to rains. 10.30 AM local time start tomorrow.
UPDATE – Unfortunately, play on Day 1 has been called off due to rains. 10.30 AM local time start tomorrow.#WTC21
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 18, 2021