Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal walk across the pitch in the rain on the first day of the first Test between India and New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. PTI

When persistent rain washed out the opening session of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Bengaluru on Wednesday, it did so with the hosts’ ambition to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) Finally affected.
With India and New Zealand staying indoors, the teams had lunch without bowling a ball and without tossing a coin in the drizzle.
India, currently leading the WTC standings, is aiming to reach the final of the competition for the third time in a row. In the first edition, India lost to New Zealand and then to Australia. The Rohit Sharma-led side is ready to make its third consecutive appearance but the rain in Bengaluru has hampered their quest for a smooth booking.
Because the weather forecast doesn’t look good cricket A start-stop approach is emerging in Bengaluru for the first three days, at least that doesn’t bode well for Team India.
India is at the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) with 74.24 percentage points after 8 wins, 2 losses and a draw from 11 matches in this 2023-25 ​​cycle.
In second and third place are Australia (62.50 percentage points) and Sri Lanka (55.56 percentage points) with the desire to take part in the WTC final themselves.
India starts New Zealand’s three-match series with a 2-0 win against Bangladesh. If India also eliminate New Zealand, they will be assured of a place in the WTC final ahead of the high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia on November 22.
The World Test Championship final will be played at Lord’s next June.