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On Sunday, January 5, Australia confirmed their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final after registering a comprehensive six-wicket win over India in the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. With this win, they not only sealed a place for the summit clash, but also reclaimed the title, ending their 10-year drought after having last won in 2014-15.
Moreover, after Scott Boland picked his maiden 10-wicket haul in the Sydney Test and finished with the Player of the Match award, Travis Head (34* off 38) and Beau Webster’s (39* off 34) unbeaten partnership helped the hosts cross the finishing line during their chase of 162-run target. After this win, they finished second in the WTC points table with 63.73 points percentage, only behind South Africa.
India miss out on WTC Final for the first time in history
India, who were needing to win in order to stay in contention for the WTC Final, faltered under pressure, thus losing the match and the series by 1-3 margin. The struggles just mounted with stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah not taking the field on the third day of the Sydney Test as the visitors struggled to defend the fourth innings target of 162.
|
Pos |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Draw |
DED |
Points |
PCT |
|
1 |
South Africa |
11 |
7 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
88 |
66.67 |
|
2 |
Australia |
17 |
11 |
4 |
2 |
10 |
130 |
63.73 |
|
3 |
India |
19 |
9 |
8 |
2 |
2 |
114 |
50.00 |
|
4 |
New Zealand |
14 |
7 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
81 |
48.21 |
|
5 |
Sri Lanka |
11 |
5 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
60 |
45.45 |
|
6 |
England |
22 |
11 |
10 |
1 |
22 |
114 |
43.18 |
|
7 |
Bangladesh |
12 |
4 |
8 |
0 |
3 |
45 |
31.25 |
|
8 |
Pakistan |
11 |
4 |
7 |
0 |
8 |
40 |
30.30 |
|
9 |
West Indies |
11 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
0 |
32 |
24.24 |
However, the win moved Australia to 63.73 points percentage, thus confirming their spot in the final, India ended with 50.00 per cent of possible points, falling short in their bid to make third straight apperance in the World Test Championship final.
