NEWS
Follow UsIndia's ace offspinner R Ashwin said that he would happily play on until a winner is crowned at the World Test Championship final in Southampton. The two days (first and fourth) of the all-important finale between India and New Zealand were completely washed out.
The weather, allied to resolute, if unspectacular, batting in conditions that have favoured pace bowlers throughout, would normally have meant this match ending in a draw given a standard men's Test lasts a maximum of five days.
But with this showpiece fixture the culmination of two years' worth of series, the ICC included a special provision for a reserve day in the hope of giving the game every chance to crown Test cricket's first official world champions.
"There is a prize up for grabs, but nobody can control the weather. It would be nice if the game kept extending and we played to a finish but I don’t think there is scope for that. The game is pretty well poised but with some more time it would be better," Ashwin told BBC Radio’s Test Match Special.
"We’ll settle for this… two good teams and a great contest going on. We’ve played for all these years and you want to see something come (from it), 98 overs is a little too few from our point of view but you take it how it comes.
"I can see lots of things happening but that is the beauty of Test cricket, you play it by the hour. That first hour is very important, if we get through it then get some runs we can really set up something for the back half of the day. If we can get the runs going we’re set up for a good finish."
With a maximum of 98 overs to play on Wednesday (June 23), the odds remain in favour of a draw. India will resume on 64/2 in their second innings -- a lead of 32 runs -- after Tim Southee removed openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma late on Tuesday. Star batsman Virat Kohli is unbeaten on 8, with Cheteshwar Pujara is playing on 12
(With inputs from AFP)