DUBAI: The third World Test Championship (WTC) final will be played at the iconic Lord's from June 11 to 15 next year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Tuesday. The ICC has also marked June 16 as a reserve day, if required.
"The ICC World Test Championship Final has quickly become one of the most anticipated events in the cricketing calendar, and we are pleased to announce the dates for the 2025 edition," said ICC CEO Geoff Allardice in a statement.
This will be the first time Lord's will host the WTC final, as Southampton (2021) and The Oval (2023) were the venues for the two previous title matches. India featured in both finals but lost to New Zealand in the inaugural match, and last year they were defeated by Australia.
Currently, Rohit Sharma's India are sitting in pole position ahead of reigning champions Australia. India will face the Aussies in an away five-match series later this year in the race to the WTC Final.
However, New Zealand (third), England (fourth), Sri Lanka (fifth), South Africa (sixth), and Bangladesh (seventh) are still in contention for a place in the one-off decider next year. Pakistan, however, suffered a huge setback as Bangladesh inflicted a 0-2 defeat on them in the just-concluded two-match home series.