ICC issues important notice about reserve day after loss of overs in WTC final

ICC has made it clear that as things stand now, it looks "unlikely" that the reserve day will come into play despite the loss of overs in the WTC final.

ICC clarified whether the reserve day will come into play during the India vs Australia World Test Championship final to make up for the loss of overs during the regular five days of the match. Till lunch of Day 4, as many as 34 overs of play have already been lost despite there being no loss of time due to weather or any other reason. The abysmal over-rate that both India and Australia have maintained in the WTC final, the loss of overs is only likely to increase as the match reaches the final day. This gave rise to speculations and debate about whether the loss of overs can be made up by using the reserve day.

The umpire looks at the match ball watched by India's Shubman Gill, left and Australia's Pat Cummins (AP)

ICC has made it clear that as things stand now, it looks "unlikely" that the reserve day will come into play.

India vs Australia Live Score WTC final

"There is a reserve day in place for the Final on Monday, but the prospect of the match going into a sixth day looks unlikely at this stage given there have been no interruptions to play over the first three-and-a-half days of the gripping contest," ICC said.

ICC further clarified that the reserve day will come into play if time is lost in the game and not overs.

"The Reserve Day was included in the Playing Conditions as a contingency to recover lost playing time in the event of rain or bad light disrupting play and the weather in London so far has been surprisingly good so far given it can be highly unpredictable so early in England's summer.

"There is a small chance of showers in London on Sunday afternoon and a total of one hour of lost time can be made up on Sunday by extending the scheduled close of play. If more than an hour's playing time is lost, then the Reserve Day will be triggered and will consist solely of the time that has been lost to rain or bad light," ICC added.

For the record, the WTC title and prize money will be shared between India and Australia if the Test match ends as a draw or is tied. As things stand now, Australia have their noses ahead and they are the ones who would want more overs to bowl India out.