WTC final: Dinesh Karthik turns weatherman again, provides update ahead of Day 3 of India-New Zealand clash

Dinesh Karthik, who is currently in Southampton as part of the ICC's commentary panel, once again turned weatherman and provided an update ahead of day three of the India-New Zealand encounter.

Day one was lost to rain while day two was affected by bad light after 64.4 overs.

Ahead of day three, Dinesh Karthik tweeted that there was no rain around yet, but the conditions were cloudy.

Your lovely weather man Mr. DK 😜#WTCFinal pic.twitter.com/4r4DOfaRaE

— DK (@DineshKarthik) June 20, 2021

Karthik wrote a small note on the picture which said:

"Another 3.5 hours to go for play to start, so lets not worry too much guys. For now it's cloudy. But the good part is, there is not rain atm."

Even ahead of day two, Karthik provided a weather update.

Waking up to the sun ☀️#WTCFinal pic.twitter.com/ksizgYYwbB

— DK (@DineshKarthik) June 19, 2021

The ICC have announced a reserve day for the WTC final. A decision on whether that day will be used will likely be taken on the fifth day of the Test match. In case of a draw, the ICC will declare India and New Zealand as the joint winners of the inaugural World Test Championship.

Indian openers impress on day two after being put in to bat first

That's about it from Day 2⃣ of the #WTC21 Final in Southampton! The day's play is called off due to bad light. #TeamIndia will resume Day 3⃣, with @imVkohli & @ajinkyarahane88 starting the proceedings.See you tomorrow, folks! 👋Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/CmrtWscFua pic.twitter.com/C51Leqm8mt

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 19, 2021

With overcast conditions around, the pitch at the Ageas Bowl was conducive to seam bowling ahead of the start of day two. New Zealand had no doubts in inviting India to bat first, but Shubman Gill (28) and Rohit Sharma (34) produced a decent opening stand at the top of the order, adding 62 runs.

Nasser Hussain was impressed with the openers and stated that they almost came up with a masterclass on how to bat in English conditions.

"I was just about to tweet that the Indian openers (Rohit Sharma & Shubman Gill) are giving a masterclass on how to bat in England conditions but they both got out. They played beautifully," Nasser Hussain said on Star Sports in the post-lunch show.

New Zealand soon struck back just before lunch, dismissing Gill and Sharma. Pujara, too, had to head back later to the dressing room after Trent Boult trapped him LBW.

Virat Kohli (44*) and Ajinkya Rahane (8*) are at the crease, with the score reading 146-3.

As we gear up for Day 3 of the #WTC21 Final, here's a quick recap of how the action unfolded on Day 2 in Southampton 📽️ 👇 #TeamIndia

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 20, 2021