INDIA’S chances of appearing in their third successive final in the World Test Championship (WTC) in England next year received a massive blow on Sunday, December 8, when Australia hammered them by 10 wickets in the second match of the ongoing five-game series in Adelaide which was played in pink ball.
The visitors, who delivered a poor show with the bat twice in the match, saw their points percentage slipping to 57.29 from 61.11, pushing them down to the third position after Australia and South Africa. The Asian side now has three Tests left to make amends and get back into the top two. India have now lost four of their last five Test matches, including a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home before reaching Down Under.
India, who resumed on 128 for 5 on the third day, lost their remaining five wickets for only 47 runs. The hosts required only 19 runs to win the game and level the series which they did comfortably with all wickets intact and inside four overs. Captain Pat Cummins took a five-fer while Mitchell Starc finished with eight wickets. Cummins took seven wickets in the game while Scott Boland finished with five.
Massive win in Adelaide for Australia as they level the series 1-1 #WTC25 | #AUSvIND : https://t.co/D4QfJY2DY1 pic.twitter.com/RXZusN98wU
— ICC (@ICC) December 8, 2024
For India, batter-all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was the top scorer again with 42 runs. Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill scored 28 each. The visiting team has now failed to go past 200 runs in three innings out of four this series.
It was Australia’s ninth win in the ongoing WTC cycle. South Africa are now playing Sri Lanka and a victory in the ongoing second Test match in Gqeberha could see them going past Australia to the No.1 spot.
India cannot afford to lose another match
India, who won the first Test in Perth by 295 runs, cannot afford to lose another match in the remaining three Tests. If they win all the three matches, they will secure a spot in the final of the WTC and meet South Africa in the title round since Australia would not be able to overhaul their percentage point of 64.05 in that case.
If India beat Australia 3-2, they will finish at 58.77. Australia have two more Tests against Sri Lanka after the current series and could finish at 55.26 percentage points at best. South Africa, who play Pakistan after the Lanka series, could extend their percentage point to 69.44 if they win three of their remaining four games .
If their series against Australia end 2-2, India will finish at a percentage point of 57.01, which could see them getting knocked out of the race to the final.
The third Test match between Australia and India will be played at The Gabba, Brisbane, from December 14-18.
South Asians Globally
