WTC 2023: The Indian Cricket Team was on song against Australia in the second Test of the four-match series in Delhi. Rohit Sharma's men were too hot to handle for Pat Cummins-led Aussies as the hosts won the Delhi contest by 6 wickets. With the win, India have made a big gain in the World Test Championship 2023 and are on brink of qualifying for the final.
What does the WTC 2023 Points table look like
After India's win in Delhi, the Men in Blue consolidated their second spot in the points table and also inched closer to Australia for the pinnacle spot. Before the Delhi Test, India were on 61.66 PCT and have now jumped to 64.06 PCT. Meanwhile, Australia fell further following the loss. They were on 70.83% to 66.67. The gap between the two is just over 2.50% now.
How can India qualify for WTC 2023
The Indian team sit in a healthy position to qualify for the second consecutive appearance in the World Test Championship finals. Rohit Sharma's team is on second and has more than 10 PCT clear than third-placed Sri Lanka. Notably, India will be through to the WTC final if they win one of the remaining two matches, regardless of any other team does. But India will qualify even if they lose their next two games, depending Sri Lanka do not beat New Zealand by 2-0 in the two-match series.
The Indian team was on song in the Delhi Test. They punched the Aussies after losing the toss and bowling first. Usman Khawaja guided his team to a 263-run total. The Indians were in trouble as they were 4 down for 66. But the middle order, led by Virat Kohli and Axar Patel bailed the hosts out and put them 1 run short of Australia's 263. India ran through the Aussie lineup as Ravindra Jadeja grabbed a seven-wicket haul before the batters- Cheteshwar Pujara, Srikar Bharat and Virat Kohli took them home.
India retains Border Gavaskar Trophy
With this win, India will also retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the third consecutive time. The Indian team won the high-profile series in 2016/17 before retaining it in 2018/19, 2020/21, and now in 2022/23. There are still two matches left but even if Australia win them they will draw the series 2-2, in which case, India will still keep the trophy with them. The third match will be played in Indore on March 1.
