India Secures Spot in WTC Final After New Zealand Defeats Sri Lanka:India has secured World Test Championship (WTC) final berth, which is scheduled to take place from June 7 to June 11 at The Oval, London. Australia had previously secured the first spot, and India became the second team to advance to the final after New Zealand’s victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test at Christchurch. Sri Lanka had to win both Test matches to stay in contention for the WTC final, but they failed to defeat New Zealand in the opening Test.
This is India’s second successive entry into the WTC final, with the previous one coming in the inaugural cycle in 2021, where they lost to New Zealand.
With the Dimuth Karunaratne-led side’s only shot at the WTC final berth hinging on a 2-0 victory against the Kiwis in the away series, the loss for the Islanders ended their hopes of securing a spot.
India’s Road To Qualification
The result in Christchurch took the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar series in Ahmedabad out of the equation as earlier India had to win the contest to secure the WTC final spot.
Australia are sitting atop the WTC table with 68.52 percentage points (PCT). If Sri Lanka won the Test on Monday and strived for victory in the second match at Wellington, their PCT would have jumped from 53.33 to 61.11 — higher than India’s 60.29 before the start of the fourth Test in Ahmedabad.
In order to take all the scenarios out of the equation, India had to win the Ahmedabad Test — which would have taken their PCT to 62.5 — and retain their second position on the WTC table.
But with New Zealand acing a record chase of 285 runs on Monday, thanks to former captain Kane Williamson’s unbeaten 121, Sri Lanka were left ruing their chances.
Sri Lanka’s Defeat Against New Zealand
Williamson, though, overcame his jitters to secure a 1-0 series victory and disqualify Sri Lanka from the WTC championship race. On the other hand, India was equally preoccupied with their Test matchup with Australia. Playing the Steve Smith-led team in Ahmedabad on Day 5 of the 4th Test. India needed to defeat Australia to secure a position in the Test championship match. However, losing or drawing would also be acceptable because Sri Lanka failed to defeat New Zealand in the opening Test.
By day’s end on Day 4, after play had seemingly reached a conclusion in New Zealand vs. Sri Lanka Test, the rain began to pour. The game, however, was resumed with a minimum of 53 overs. And no break was promised as the sun began to shine. Daryl Mitchell also hit a quickfire 81 off 86 balls to help his team surpass Sri Lanka’s total and grab a 1-0 series lead. However, Kane Williamson led the Kiwis in scoring with his 27th Test century.
India’s Matchup with Australia
India’s fourth Test match against Australia took place in Ahmedabad on Day 5 of the series. India needed to defeat Australia to secure a position in the Test championship match. However, losing or drawing the match would also be acceptable because Sri Lanka failed to defeat New Zealand in the opening Test. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy series came down to the wire, and Rohit’s Team India scored 571 in the first innings at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Kohli’s Performance in the Fourth Test
Former Indian captain Virat Kohli broke his century drought on Sunday in the game’s longest format after regaining his best form ahead of the ICC World Test Championship final. In the fourth Test at Ahmedabad, Kohli scored the most runs for India with 186 from 364 balls. India had the upper hand over the Baggy Greens in the fourth Test thanks to Kohli’s eighth century against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy match. In the same match that Kohli started scoring again, Indian opener Shubman Gill rewarded the selectors’ faith by playing a scorching performance of 128 off 235 balls.
India’s Road to The WTC Final
India and Australia, the top two teams in the ICC rankings, will play in the summit match in London from June 7 to June 11. An additional reserve day will be during the World Test Championship (12 June). In the first-ever ICC World Test Championship at Southampton in 2021, Team India was defeated by New Zealand by an 8-wicket margin under Kohli’s captaincy.
