Kane Williamson’s game-dominating thump against Sri Lanka in the first Test has prepared Rohit Sharma and Co. to get India’s compartment for the last of the ICC World Test Title on Monday.
After Sri Lanka failed to beat Team India in the first Test of the two-game series, Team India, who finished second in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship, secured their spot in the championship finale.
The Sri Lankan team led by Dimuth Karunaratne had a slim chance of reaching the World Test Championship final. To secure a spot in the Test Championship final, the visitors in New Zealand were required to defeat the Kiwis 2-0 in the series.
New Zealand, led by Kane Williamson, beat Sri Lanka in a nail-biter in the final over, despite the rain gods’ presence at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The Kiwis’ victory has prevented Sri Lanka’s last-minute attempt to advance to the final.
Sri Lanka’s best possible finish in the World Test Championship standings fell to 56 percent as a result of its loss in the game stopped by rain. Even though India lost the third Test, it finished with a lower worst possible percentage (57%) than Sri Lanka.
Consequently, India overshadowed Sri Lanka to mark the calendar with Australia in the last of the ICC World Test Title. Rohit and co. would still have advanced to the Test Championship final if Sri Lanka had won the second Test against New Zealand and India had lost the fourth Test.
India qualifies for the WTC 2023 Final against Australia
Rohit and co. secured their spot in the ICC World Test Championship final by winning the highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy twice against finalists Australia as a warm-up match. India pounded Pat Cunmins’ Australia by innings and 132 runs in the Nagpur Test. The Ravindra Jadeja-inspired side then outclassed Australia by 6 wickets to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Rohit’s Team India scored a massive 571 in the first innings at the Narendra Modi Stadium to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series decider. Ex-Indian captain Virat Kohli ended his century drought in the game’s longest format on Sunday, regaining his best form ahead of the ICC World Test Championship final.
Kohli was India’s top scorer in the fourth Test at Ahmedabad with 186 runs off 364 balls. India defeated Australia in the fourth Test thanks to Kohli’s eighth century in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the same match, Indian opener Shubman Gill repaid the selectors’ faith by scoring 128 off 235 balls while Kohli resumed scoring.
The ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 final will be played in June at The Oval. The summit match in London from June 7 to June 11 will feature India and Australia, the two teams with the highest ranking in the ICC rankings.
There will also be a reserve day for the World Test Championship (12 June). In the inaugural ICC World Test Championship, which took place in Southampton in 2021, Team India, led by Kohli, lost to New Zealand by eight wickets.
