Australia have qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final and ended India's contention after winning the fifth and final Test in Sydney by six wickets and hence the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1. Australia's win meant that India were knocked out of the race to make it to their third consecutive final and their dream of winning the Test mace remains distant, having lost the final twice. For Australia, this will be their second consecutive final as they will take on South Africa this time around, at Lord's from June 11-15.
Scott Boland with a six-wicket haul in the second innings wrapped up India's innings cheaply with some help from captain Pat Cummins on the third day. India tried their best but it was a bridge too far, defeingd 162 runs without Jasprit Bumrah. Still, Prasidh Krishna gave his best with a few wickets in the morning session itself but it wasn't to be.
The loss meant that India's campaign in the ongoing WTC Cycle ended with 114 points out of 228 with a points percentage (PCT) of 50.00. Losing six Tests out of the last eight, with a draw and just one win was not going to help and that meant wins against West Indies, South Africa, Bangladesh and England didn't eventually bear fruit.
WTC Points Table updated after Border-Gavaskar Trophy
| Rank | Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draw | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | South Africa (Q) | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 88 | 66.67 |
| 2. | Australia (Q) | 17 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 130 | 63.73 |
| 3. | India | 19 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 114 | 50.00 |
| 4. | New Zealand | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 81 | 48.21 |
| 5. | Sri Lanka | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 60 | 45.45 |
| 6. | England | 22 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 69 | 44.23 |
| 7. | Bangladesh | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 45 | 31.25 |
| 8. | Pakistan | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 30.30 |
| 9. | West Indies | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 24.24 |
India stayed in third position and so did Australia (in second) as their PCT jumped up just a little to 63.72. Australia even if they lose to Sri Lanka 0-2 in the away series later this month, will be playing the WTC final as their PCT will only drop to 57. With that result, Sri Lanka were also knocked out of the race as their only chance depended upon the Sydney Test getting drawn and them winning 2-0. Even if Sri Lanka whitewash Australia at home, there might be a change on the table but not in the final fixture.
Meanwhile, South Africa tightened screws over Pakistan, having three three down after piling on a monumental score of 615 runs in the first innings.
