2024-09-05 01:26:28
Dubai: The date and venue of the final match of the third round of the World Test Championship (WTC) has been announced. Like the first two finals, the third final will also be held in England, but this time it will be hosted by the historic Lord’s ground. June 16 has been kept as a reserve day for this match to be held between June 11 and 15. Lord’s will host the WTC final for the first time. Earlier, Southampton (2021) and the Oval (2023) hosted the last two title matches. ICC Chief Executive Officer Geoff Allardice said in a statement, ‘The ICC World Test Championship Final has become one of the most important matches in the cricket calendar and we are delighted to announce the dates for the 2025 season.’
India has lost two consecutive finals
India was part of both those finals. The team was defeated by New Zealand in 2021 and Australia last year. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team is at the top of the table ahead of defending champions Australia. India will take on the Australian team in a five-match series later this year with an aim to strengthen their position in the race for the WTC final. New Zealand (third), England (fourth), South Africa (fifth) and Bangladesh (sixth) and Sri Lanka (seventh) are in the race to reach the final.
The condition of Pakistan is very bad
However, Pakistan has faced a big disappointment after losing 0-2 in the home series against Bangladesh. Pakistan is eighth in this table and West Indies is at the bottom ninth. Meanwhile, a close contest is expected between India and Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy starting on November 22. India has won four consecutive series against Australia from 2016-17 to 2022-23. On two of these occasions, it defeated Australia on its soil.