India v New Zealand: day four of World Test Championship final abandoned – as it happened | Sport










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It’s time for me to make way. A frustrating time, no doubt, but at least we got to have a bit of fun along the way. Over to Tim de Lisle. See you tomorrow for, hopefully, some riveting cricket. Bye!









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Preamble

So, how about a seventh day? Yep, you guessed it, the rain is falling again at Southampton and, according to my rain app, it looks to be set in for the time being. It’s such a shame, as the cricket played over the weekend was compelling, not least the final half an hour last night when Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja clamped Devon Conway down before Ishant Sharma picked him up in what turned out to be the final over before bad light brought at end to play.

To recap: with three days to go (including the spare), New Zealand are 116 runs behind the 217 India made in the first innings with eight wickets in hand; Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor in the middle. If today goes as badly as the forecast suggests it might, then the captains have a fairly big decision to make over days five and six.

On one hand, they can let the game drift – after all, a draw means both Williamson and Virat Kohli can hold up the trophy, in keeping with the playing conditions. Alternatively, they can consider setting up a final day dash, in the best tradition of rain-affected games in England. That’s unlikely, I suppose, but we can dare to dream.

For now, let’s stand by for the television coverage to begin at the Hampshire Bowl and see where the discussion takes us. If you’re new to these parts, rainy OBOs can often be the most educative. We’ll see how we go. You can drop me a line or pop me a tweet.



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