Adelaide: The race to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final is becoming more intense with each Test match. India experienced the same as they slipped to third place in the WTC standings after conceding a defeat against Australia in the pink ball Test in Adelaide in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
The defeat reduced India's points percentage from 61.11 to 57.29 pushing them below Australia and South Africa in the standings. Australia's ninth victory in the ongoing cycle helped them rise above second-ranked South Africa (59.26) with a points percentage of 60.71. However, South Africa could overtake Australia once again if they beat Sri Lanka in the ongoing Test of the bilateral series between the two nations.
THE WTC POINTS TABLE...!!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/wMp6wsk6yM
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 8, 2024
Winning all of the three remaining fixtures will be crucial for India as a single defeat in the upcoming matches will make them rely on the results of the other Test fixtures. With three more triumphs in Australia, India can end with 146 points and a points percentage of 64.03.
India’s batting unit struggled as none of the batters managed to pile up a half-century. On the other hand, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne played impressive knocks for the Australian side. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins picked five-wicket hauls each in the fixture. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj managed to pick four wickets each in the fixture.
India will be up against Australia in the third Test starting from December 14 in Brisbane.
