The Indian cricket team officially qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, booking the second spot after Australia had become the first team to seal their progression. India’s qualification came as a result of New Zealand’s triumph over Sri Lanka in the first Test at Christchurch. Despite a rain delay, the Kiwis successfully chased down the target of 285 runs on Day 5. Sri Lanka needed to win both their Tests against New Zealand to remain in the WTC final hunt but they couldn’t get the better of the hosts in the opener on Monday.
New Zealand secured a thrilling 2-wicket victory over Sri Lanka, with Kane Williamson hitting the final runs. Epic drama unfolded towards the end, with New Zealand losing a plethora of wickets towards the end. But, Williamson help his nerves to seal a 1-0 win in the series, and also knocked Sri Lanka out of the WTC final race.
India, on the other hand, were also busy with their Test assignment against Australia, squaring off against the Steve Smith-led side in Ahmedabad on Day 5 of the 4th Test. India needed a win over the Aussies to directly book a spot in the Test championship final but a draw or a loss would also be enough as Sri Lanka couldn’t beat New Zealand in the first Test.
The New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Test looked to be heading for a result at stumps on Day 4 but the rain came downpouring ahead of the start of the 5th day’s play. However, the sun came out and the match resumed, with a minimum of 53 overs and no break being promised.
Kane Williamson led the scoring charts for the Kiwis, registering his 27th Test century while Daryl Mitchell also scored a quick-fire 81 off 86 balls to help his team overhaul Sri Lanka’s total and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Australia are sitting atop the WTC table with 68.52 percentage points (PCT).
Had 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.
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