For the second time in a row, the Indian team led by Rohit Sharma has qualified for the World Test Championship final. Despite the fact that India needed to win the fourth Test of the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, New Zealand’s thrilling victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test opened the door for India.
To qualify, India’s Rohit Sharma-led team needed to win the four-match Test series against Australia by a score of 3-0 or 3-1. Sri Lanka needed to defeat New Zealand in the Test series 2-0 in order to qualify for the WTC Final. Any other outcome of the New Zealand-Sri Lanka match would have met India’s qualification criteria, and that is exactly what occurred.
Sri Lanka gave their all until the final ball of the game, but Kane Williamson remained unbeaten and took his team home on the final delivery with a score of 121*. (194). The game came down to the wire when New Zealand needed one run off the final delivery to win, and Sri Lanka needed to defend it to draw the match. But Williamson crossed the line just a second before the bails were removed, saving himself from a run-out and winning the game.
India, on the other hand, is currently playing Australia at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. The ongoing fourth Test is the only one of the series’ four games that has progressed past the third day and witnessed a full five-day match. The two teams will play until the end of the day, but India will not be concerned about the outcome.
Nonetheless, India would like to win the final Test or draw the game in order to win the series 3-1 or 2-1. The Rohit Sharma-led team has been on the verge of qualifying since December 2022, when they resumed their red-ball campaign. However, thanks to their outstanding performances in the first two Tests against Australia and New Zealand’s thrilling victory, India has qualified for the WTC Final.
The summit clash between Australia and India will take place on June 7 at The Oval. The previous edition of the WTC final saw India face New Zealand, but the Virat Kohli-led side failed to lift the Test mace. With two new contenders, it will be interesting to see who takes home the championship.