After Team India‘s humiliating 3-0 series loss at home to New Zealand, Australia has taken the lead in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table. India, who were previously at the top, dropped to No. 2 after suffering their third consecutive defeat.
This historic home series loss brings India’s total WTC defeats to five out of 14 matches, with eight wins. Their chances of reaching the finals have become more complicated, requiring them to defeat Australia 4-1 in their upcoming series. Their percentage points have also fallen to 58.33.
Chasing a target of 147, India struggled and found themselves at 29/5. Rishabh Pant was the top scorer with 64 but fell under controversial circumstances. New Zealand eventually bowled India out for 121, winning by 25 runs and completing a remarkable 3-0 series sweep.
India captain Rohit Sharma took full responsibility and acknowledged that he hadn’t been the best captain. He stated:
“Losing a series, losing a Test is never easy, it’s something that’s not easily digestible. Again, we didn’t play our best cricket, we know and we have to accept.”
”From a personal point of view, I wasn’t at my best with both bat and as a captain, that’s something that’ll rankle me. But, we didn’t perform well collectively and that’s the reason for these losses,” said Rohit.
Australia has seven Tests remaining in this World Test Championship cycle
The Baggy Greens have seven Tests left in this cycle: five against India at home and two against Sri Lanka. Pat Cummins and his team have faced three losses so far—two against England and one against the West Indies. While they have a strong chance of winning against India at home, their path to the WTC final could be at risk if they lose to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka, captained by Dhananjaya de Silva, is tough to beat at home, as shown by their recent 2-0 series victory over New Zealand. Both New Zealand and South Africa are also strong contenders for the WTC final.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
