New Delhi, Mar, 13: With Sri Lanka losing the first Test against New Zealand in the two-match series, Australia and India have been locked in as the 2023 World Test Championship finalists.
On their tour of New Zealand, Sri Lanka had a possibility to pip India and join Australia in the final at The Oval, London starting June 7. This, only if they could have won the series 2-0, and India didn’t win the final Test in Ahmedabad. Two wins in New Zealand would’ve propelled Sri Lanka’s points percentage (PCT) to 61.11. Whereas, if India are unable to win the fourth Test to Australia, their PCT would be 58.79 or lesser depending on the outcome. With the result in Christchurch being a two wicket win for New Zealand, the permutation and combinations have been thrown out of the window.
Chasing 285 on the final day, New Zealand batters approached a win with Kane Williamson scoring a century in the second innings at the Hagley Oval. With eight runs needed off the last over, New Zealand would seal the game on the last ball of the day with two wickets in hand.
While India and Australia are still in action on the final day of the four match Test series, with the hosts leading 2-1, the result in Ahmedabad won’t effect any of their chances now to feature in the 2021/23 Test cycle final this summer.
Australia had sealed off their place in the final after their nine wicket win in the Indore Test last week, with a 68.51 PCT after that last result. The result in Indore had hit India’s PCT in the tally, as it dipped from 64.06 to 60.29. To not be dependent on Sri Lanka for qualifying in the final, India had to win the series 4-0 or 3-1 but the current holders of the ICC Test mace have done them a favor.
For India, it will be a second consecutive qualification in the summit clash, in which they squared off against New Zealand in the 2019/21 cycle, losing by eight wickets to the Black Caps. Australia on the other hand, had missed out on a final spot last time around by a 0.8 point difference to their Trans-Tasman rivals.
