India vs New Zealand Highlights, WTC Final, Day 3: NZ reach 101/2 at Stumps, trail India by 116 runs

A prompt start looks unlikely as we are getting information that the outfield at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton is wet. And the conditions are very cold and cloudy, which makes it very difficult for the groundstaff to dry out the water quickly. We may be in for another frustrating day.

The official broadcasters also confirm that the start of Day 3 has been delayed.

Scratch the good news part, reports are coming from Southampton that the umpires will have an official inspection at 2:50 IST, that means we surely can't be starting at 3:00 pm. But the good thing is, there is still no rain.

ESPN is reporting that the side covers are being taken off, this means, the hover cover could be next. But we have are already crossed 2:30 pm IST, not even half an hour to go for the scheduled start, which looks highly unlikely now.

Virat Kohli is completing 10 years in Test match cricket today. It was on June 20, 2011 when Kohli made his Test debut at the Kingston against West Indies. What a career it has been since then. 27 hundreds already, more than 75000 runs and many believe he hasn't reached his peak in Test cricket yet.

Sun has decided to give Ageas Bowl a miss. There is no sunlight whatsoever. The only good thing is that there is no rain but boy is it dark, cold and cloudy. Expect no change in the weather throughout the day. More swing, more movement for the seamers. The batsmen have to doubly patient and careful.

The pitch is under covers but there is no rain. The Indian players have made their way out into the centre led by captain Virat Kohli. They have just started to warm up and mind you, it is very cold out there.

If there is no rain or bad light interruption then play will be begin at 3:00 pm. And these will be the session timings.

Session 1: 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Lunch break 40minutes

Session 2: 5:40 pm to 7:55 pm (15 minutes extra)

Tea break 20 minutes

Session 3: 8:15 pm - 10:30 pm (15 minutes extra)

NOTE: Play can be extended for another 30 minutes if the scheduled 98 overs are not bowled by 10:30 pm.

There is no rain but the pitch is covered currently.

Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour said that a first innings score of 250-plus will put India in a fighting position. "We would like to score as many runs as possible but 250-plus will be a reasonable score in these conditions," Rathour said at the day end press conference.

Jamieson was not the only one singing praises of the Indian top-order. The likes of Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan, Sunil Gavaskar, VVS Laxman were more than happy with the show that Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli put up against the moving ball in Southampton. Pretty much the same would expected from the Indian middle-order today.

"It was crucial to try to get balls in reasonable areas for long periods, how we did that throughout the day after they started off well was pretty pleasing, to keep things in the balance." Jamieson said India is 'a quality line up from 1 to 11'. "There is a reason why they are one of the top teams in the world for a long period of time. For us, it was about putting the ball in the right areas and I think we were able to do that for the most part and take that confidence tomorrow," he said.

It seems like rain won't give a respite to all of us. There is again about 25% rain forecast today in Southampton towards the afternoon and evening. The last session might again be curtailed but good news is, currently there is no rain at the Ageas Bowl. It is cloudy but no rain is expected till 2 pm local time, that means we should have two sessions of cricket without any difficulty. But will we get the full 98 overs in? I won't bet my money on it. Here's the complete weather report of Southampton for Day 3

We have lost 33 more overs - 64.4 overs was possible among the scheduled 98 - yesterday due to bad light. The start time for Day 3 or infact the remaining days of the Test match, however, won't change at all. Play will begin at 3:00 pm IST with the third second and third session extended for 15 minutes each to make up for some of the lost time.

Colin de Grandhomme bowled four maiden overs on the trot in the post-lunch session and it was mostly to Virat Kohli. The Indian captain was prepared to leave, the more Grandhomme tempt him outside off, the further Kohli went from playing a shot. In fact, for the first 50 deliveries of their innings, Pujara actually outscored Kohli. That was a testimony to the grind that Kohli was going through. He was prepared to dig deep, respect the conditions and play as few a shots as possible. For the record, Kohli left nearly 34% of his 124 deliveries. For the deliveries, he offered a shot, he was in control of them for about 90%.

If Day 1 was all about rain, Day 2 was about riveting Test cricket powered by some disciplined batting from India with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma at the forefront and some stunning swing bowling by New Zealand seamers especially after the first hour. But just as we were setting up for an aboslute cracker jack of a final session, bad light made the players (and also all of us) go in and out three times before finally forcing an early stumps with India at 146/3.

DK, the weatherman is here

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Day 3 of the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand. After the second day finished earlier than its scheduled time due to bad light, a lot of focus would be on the weather and how it's holding up in Southampton. The forecast for Sunday is this - the day will remain overcast with showers expected, but not threatening enough to hamper play. It was raining earlier in the day at the Rose Bowl but isn't anymore. So we can assume action to resume on time.