What happens if the World Test Championship final 2023 ends in a draw or tie?

India and Australia are all set to lock horns in the World Test Championship final from June 7 at the Oval in London. Australia finished on the first spot in the WTC points table with a points percentage of 66.67 while India finished on the second spot with a points percentage of 58.8. Notably, it will be India’s second consecutive appearance in the final after they lost to New Zealand in the inaugural edition by eight wickets.

The WTC final in 2021 went to the reserve day as the rain washed out the complete two-day play. This year as well, a reserve day has been kept if the rain plays spoilsport on any of the five days of the final. The reserve day will come into effect if there’s a substantial loss in the net playing time or a significant loss in the overs in the first five days of the match. The net playing time in every Test refers to 30 hours of play, six hours per day, or 90 overs per day.

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

If the game ends in a draw despite the use of the reserve day, then the trophy will be shared between the two teams. The team finishing higher in the points table will have no advantage heading into the final and only a victory will allow a team to stake the claim of the coveted trophy.

India are currently the number-one ranked team in the world in Test cricket and have beaten Australia in their last four series consecutively. However, the Rohit Sharma-led side is marred by injuries to their big players such as Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul, heading into the big clash. India players are further coming into the game after playing two months non-stop in the IPL hence they wouldn’t be as fresh for the game.

On the other hand, most of the Australian players were not a part of the IPL and will come into the summit clash after a good rest of two months. Hence, they might have an upper hand ahead of the title clash.