India vs New Zealand Highlights, WTC Final, Day 5: Kohli, Pujara unbeaten; India lead by 32 runs

Roughly 20 minutes before start of play on Day 5, a light drizzle makes an appearance at the Rose Bowl and the pitch has been covered. Talk about bad timing. There's still a chance of play starting on time, provided the drizzling stops in the next 10 minutes.

With 67 wickets in 13 Test matches, Ashwin is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament and has picked up 4 five-wicket-hauls. But he hasn't been in the action alone. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have combined to pick up 95 wickets in the WTC, which probably indicates why India stuck to these two spinners for the crunch tie.

It's really windy, breezy and chilly. The Indian players have their beanies and puffer jackets on, including Virat Kohli, who was seen laughing in the visuals as he spoke to Shubman Gill. Just shows India are in no sort of pressure.

We hear that the hover cover is on at the Ageas Bowl, but there is no rain, or is it drizzling? Not sure. But let's hope rain stays away. There's some chances of drizzle around lunch time, but it's only passing.

With two days play remaining, it's tricky to pick a winner here. Surely, from this point onward, it looks highly unlikely that New Zealand can lose. India would have to bowl out of their skins to dismiss their twice in two days. The only possibility for that to happen is this - India bowls out the Kiwis inside two sessions today and then get a sizeable lead before putting NZ in again. That's a lot to do in two days.

Whoa! When was the last time we saw that during this Test match.

Session 1: 3PM to 5PM

Session 2: 5:40 PM to 7:55 PM

Session 3: 8:15 PM to 10:30 PM

Some more promising news coming from the Hampshire bowl. The players are warming up, which signals encouraging signs. It indicates that will definitely start on time. Although there is no rain, light could prove to be a bit of an issue in the final session, as was the case on Day 2.

Dinesh Karthik: 'It is a typical English weather, grey and overcast. These conditions should certainly help India and its fast bowlers. Rest assured, expect a full day's play. The entire 98 overs.'

Now, that's what we're talking about!

A total of 196 overs are left to be bowled in the day, and more importantly, to determine the winner of the World Test Championship. In four days, only a total of 141.2 overs have been bowled. Having said that, given how challenging it has been for the batsmen to play, we are hopeful of one team emerging victorious here.

In the lead-up to the Test match, there were reports that suggested that the team management was trying its best to slot Mohammed Siraj in the Playing XI for the WTC XI. But now that he isn't part of it, and India have stuck to their trio of Shami, Bumrah and Ishant, if they don't live up to the expectations, rest assured, there will be plenty of talking. Given how well Siraj bowled in Australia, his strength being swing, nine out of 10 times, he would have been a starter, especially in English conditions.

Just a reminder. In case the final of the WTC final ends in a draw, both teams - India and New Zealand - would share the trophy. As dull and ending that promises to be to a two-year-long journey, those are the rules and unfortunately, that's just how it is. There have been theories that perhaps the table-topper could be declared the winner, but that would be unfair to the other team that has worked hard to reach the final. Do you think the ICC should make some changes to the WTC final format going forward? Have your say.

Spinner Keshav Maharaj has become the first player from South Africa to pick up a Test hat-trick in over 50 years. Geoff Griffin picked up the country's first hat-trick in 1960. Ever since, a total of 110 players have been on the chance of picking up three in three, but none could. That is, before Keshav Maharaj wrote his name in the history books.

This isn't the first time that an ICC match or matches have been washed out in England during their summer. Two years ago, at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, a total of four matches were washed out. Keeping that in mind, going ahead, just how sensible it is for England to host cricket matches during the time of the year when it rains the most? Former India and New Zealand cricketers have already pointed fingers at the ICC, since there is no backup available and in the case of a draw, both teams will be declared joint-winners.

Even though the fast bowlers from India had their tail up, there wasn't much to show in the wickets' column. Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami did not get enough swing but still managed to trouble the New Zealand batsmen. The first wicket was taken by Ashwin before Ishant finally gave India a breakthrough at the very end, and who knows? Had rain not interfered, India could have targetted Ross Taylor as well. None the less, with one more day being washed out, conditions should once again favour India's pacers and they would be looking to knock New Zealand over as early as possible.

Like his stint in the commentary box, Dinesh Karthik is doing a fabulous job bringing us the daily scenes from Southampton.

The Test match has reached a very crucial point. Technically, with just two days' worth of play remaining, it is likely that India and New Zealand would want to press for a result. The chances of two innings being played out in two days is very much a possibility as we have seen in the past. The one thing that two days of washout has ensured that this Test match should not end in a draw. A few very interesting passages of play are up for grabs.

Well, we have some good news for you. The skies in Southampton are still overcast, as expected. But thankfully, chances of rain are far and few. To put it simply, Day 5 of this Test match could well prove to be a repeat of Day 2, where 64 overs were bowled and, if the weather permits, we could well complete the full day's quota of overs. Then again, we wouldn't get our hopes too high. That's how fickle the English weather is.

Hello and welcome to Day 5 live blog of ICC World Test Championship Final, between India and New Zealand. The last day was a mood-spoiler but today we are expecting some action at the Rose Bowl. The covers are off currently and the weather also seems fine. New Zealand will resume their innings on 101/2 with Kane Williamson (12*) and Ros Taylor coming to bat. The Kiwis trail India by 116 runs.