Dubai: England’s 227-run win over India in the first Test of the ongoing four-Test series has kept their hopes alive of making the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The final will be in London in the month of June. June. The victory Tuesday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai lifted England to first place on the points table. They now have 70.2 percentage points. They’ve improved their chances of securing one of the three series results – 3-1, 3-0 or 4-0. Any of these series results would help them qualify for the World Test Championship final.
New Zealand have already qualified for the final winning 70 per cent of their matches. India and Australia remain in contention for the other place along with England.
India have slipped to fourth position with 68.3 percentage points. They cannot afford another loss in the four-match series. They will be looking to win at least two of the remaining three games to secure a 2-1 or 3-1 result and a place in the final. Australia will get to feature in a Trans-Tasman summit clash if the India-England series is drawn or if England win 1-0, 2-1 or 2-0.
Pakistan’s 2-0 home win over South Africa sees them finish the series in fifth position with 43.3 percentage points. South Africa have slipped to sixth position with 30 percentage points.
West Indies are seventh with 23.8 percentage points after their epic victory in the first Test against Bangladesh, who are last on the table and yet to win a point.