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What the contenders need to do to qualify for the World Test Championship final

S Rajesh02-Oct-2024 • Updated on 24-Oct-2024India
Despite the loss in the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, India stay in a healthy position at the top of the table. For them to get enough points to seal their place in the WTC final regardless of other results, they need at least four wins and one draw (52 points) in their remaining seven Tests, which will give them 65.79 percentage points. South Africa can get up to 69.44 if they win each of their remaining six Tests, but Australia can only reach 62.28 with four wins and one draw (assuming they lose two to India and draw one, and win the other four Tests).If India get fewer than 52 points, then there is a possibility of them not being in the top two. For instance, if they win four Tests (48 points, 64.04%), then it’s possible for Australia and South Africa to overtake them. Sri Lanka can finish with more than 67% too, but wins for them will be at the expense of points for both Australia and South Africa. That will work in India’s favour as Australia and South Africa could then both finish below India. New Zealand can finish as high as 64.29% if they win each of their five remaining Tests.Australia
Currently in second place at 62.5%, Australia can finish on a maximum of 76.32 if they win each of their remaining seven Tests. The two teams against whom they play their remaining series, India and Sri Lanka, are also strong contenders for the final, so wins against them will doubly help Australia’s cause. Five wins will lift their percentage to 65.79, but India and South Africa can still go past them. Things will be clearer by the time they start the series against India, though, as the visitors would have finished their three home Tests against New Zealand.South Africa
South Africa’s victory against Bangladesh in the Mirpur Test has kept them in the race for a top-two finish. If they win each of their five remaining Tests they will finish with 69.44%, which will surely be enough for qualification, as only one out of India or Australia can go past that number. Four wins and a draw will leave them with 63.89, which will still keep them in contention, while four wins and a defeat will lower the percentage marginally to 61.11, which will still give them a chance if other results go their way. The second Test against Bangladesh, ahead of four home Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan later this year, is shaping up as a crucial fixture.Sri Lanka
With a full 24 points gained from their last two Tests, Sri Lanka have made a strong push towards a top-two finish in this WTC cycle. Their four remaining Tests are against two opponents who are also contenders for the final. If they win each of those matches and take home 48 more points (keep in mind over-rate deductions are always a threat), they will finish on 69.23% and assure themselves of a place in the final regardless of other results. If they lose one and win three they will end up at 61.54, which will still leave them with a chance of qualifying, depending on other results.Australia would have a clearer picture of qualification ahead of the home Tests against India•AFP/Getty Images

New Zealand
New Zealand can still finish with a percentage as high as 64.29 if they win all five remaining Tests, but that remains a tough ask despite their victory in the first Test against India in Bengaluru. Even if they win three of those five Tests and lose two, they will finish at only 50%.England
After winning and losing their first two Tests in Pakistan, England can no longer finish with more than 60 percentage points. For them to qualify with that score, they will need several other results to work in their favour.Bangladesh
The two defeats in India and now one at home to South Africa have hurt Bangladesh badly – from 45.83% they have dropped to 30.56. Even if they win each of their three remaining Tests, it is unlikely to be enough for a place in the top two.Pakistan
Pakistan’s win against England in Multan has pushed their percentage points above 20, but they can’t get above 60 even if they win all their remaining matches in this cycle.West Indies
West Indies have already played four series and have only scored 20 points out of 108. Even if they win their last four Tests, they can only finish on 43.59%.

“Longevity comes with a lot of hard work, discipline, adaptability and he’s shown all of that,” coach says before Kohli’s 500th international game

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jul-20234:32

Dravid on Kohli: Great to see him put effort and work hard when nobody’s watching

The year 2023 may hold a lot of importance for Virat Kohli. It will mark 15 years of international cricket for him next month. There’s an ODI World Cup coming up which will provide Kohli a rare second chance to lift the trophy at home. It will bring up his 500th international appearance when Kohli takes the field on Thursday in the second Test against West Indies in Trinidad. Even though he doesn’t seem to be part of India’s T20I plans going ahead, he continues to be the driving force of the 50-overs and the Test teams.Asked where he saw Kohli in the overall scheme of things currently, coach Rahul Dravid was nothing but complimentary of his senior batter’s work ethic and drive even after 110 Tests and 15 years of international cricket.”He’s a real inspiration to so many players within this team without a doubt, to so many boys and girls in India,” Dravid said. “His numbers and stats speak for itself, his performances – it’s all there in the book. But I think for me what’s great to see first hand is the effort and work he puts behind the scenes when no one’s watching. That’s reflecting in the fact that he’s going to be playing 500 games.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“He’s still very strong, very fit, the energy and enthusiasm despite playing 500 games and being around here for 12-13 years now, it’s truly fantastic. That’s not come easy, that’s come because of a lot of hard work behind the scenes, lot of sacrifices that he has made through his career and he’s willing to continue to make. That’s something that is great for a coach, you can see a lot of young players will look to that and be inspired by that.”You don’t have to say anything, just by the way you conduct yourself, the way you carry yourself, the way you go about practice and about your fitness, it’s an inspiration to a lot of players coming through the system. Hopefully they follow that and they are inspired like Virat to play so many games. Longevity comes with a lot of hard work, discipline, adaptability and he’s shown all of that. Long may it continue.”Related

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Dravid first played with Kohli in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008. Then they became ODI colleagues a year later. On the tour of the Caribbean in 2011, they became Test colleagues when Kohli had a tough initiation into the longest format. The game where Kohli brought up his maiden Test century – in Adelaide in January 2012 – incidentally, would be Dravid’s last.”It’s nice to see Virat’s journey,” Dravid said. “When I was playing, he was a youngster coming through. And then I was not involved in the team as such, I watched it from the outside with a lot of admiration for what he’s done and what he’s continued to achieve.”And now to get to know him a bit over the last 18 months [since taking over as coach], interact with him, get to know him personally as well, it’s been good fun. I’ve really enjoyed it, I’ve learnt a lot from him. So in a lot of ways, I’ve really enjoyed it and hope he has as well.”

Wade was given out lbw off Maxwell and reviewed thinking he’d hit it – but Ultra Edge did not show a significant spike

Sidharth Monga19-May-2022Gujarat Titans’ Matthew Wade has been reprimanded by the match referee for his outburst after being dismissed.The Titans batter immediately reviewed an lbw call when given out off the bowling of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Glenn Maxwell. Replays suggested there might have been a deflection when the ball passed Wade’s bat. The commentators – Matthew Hayden, Graeme Smith and Simon Doull – were convinced Wade had hit the ball.Ultra Edge, though, showed little evidence of it. There was a smidgeon, an extremely brief murmur, on the straight line of the audio signature, but that was not considered significant enough to overturn an on-field decision.Wade looked flabbergasted that the technology didn’t back him up. He walked off shaking his head. Upon reaching the dressing room, he was seen angrily throwing his bat and helmet around.After the match, he admitted to the offence and was let off with a reprimand. As per a statement from the IPL, it was a Level 1 offence, under Article 2.5 of the Code of Conduct.His captain Hardik Pandya did not seek to carry on about the decision. “I think it was a slight… on Ultra Edge it was there, right?” Pandya said at the post-match press conference. “I don’t know from the big screen it was not (clearly) visible. You can’t fault (anyone). If the technology is not helping, I don’t know who’s going to help. Obviously it is nothing personal from anybody. Most of the time it works and most of the time the right decision is taken.”Although Titans went on to lose the match by eight wickets, they had already secured a place in the top two, which gives them two shots at making the final should they lose the first qualifier. Pandya said he was proud that his side had kept finding different match-winners in different matches of the league stages.

Cameron Green will play his first day-night first-class match at the SCG on Friday

Andrew McGlashan09-Dec-2020Adam Gilchrist believes the Australia selectors should rubberstamp Joe Burns’ place in the Test line-up before the pink-ball warm-up game against India at the SCG to allow him to play with a freedom that may help break his run drought.It is a conversation that may well already have taken place and Burns has had plenty of backing in recent weeks from selectors and team-mates, but two more low scores at Drummoyne Oval for Australia A – caught behind trying to leave a ball and then dragging on a drive – left him with a tally of 61 runs in seven innings for the summer.The subsequent concussion suffered by Will Pucovski and the groin injury that has ruled out David Warner have added to the question marks over the opening positions for the day-night Test in Adelaide.The wording of national selector Trevor Hohns’ remarks on Wednesday – where he said Burns had enjoyed “excellent” preparation and that the second Australia A match would “round it out nicely” – did not suggest a player about to be jettisoned.ALSO READ: David Warner ruled out of first Test against India“It may be the sensible thing to do, say don’t worry, you are going to walk out there in Adelaide now gain some exposure against Bumrah and whoever the Indians serve up under light,” Gilchrist said at a Fox Cricket BBL launch event.”That would be a good sensible approach to clear any doubts out, that he has the backing, he’s not playing a trial game, he’s just having a practice game to sharpen up for Adelaide.”Nothing ever seems to be a perfect science. You can get nicked out and go into the Test a big negative of mind because you haven’t got the runs, but 10 balls into your Test innings you can that’s what it feels like and you are away.”The selectors have yet to add any batting reinforcements to the squad but it is expected that Marcus Harris, who will open with Burns for Australia A, will be added as cover for Pucovski. However, they may need to consider more than one extra batsman given that very last-minute additions are still not possible under the Covid-19 protocols for the tour.That could open the door for an experienced player such as Usman Khawaja although there was no indication that he was about to leave the Sydney Thunder BBL squad currently in Canberra.”If you went to Khawaja, I don’t think he’d see it as just one game, he’d say he’d make it hard to drop me now and eye a few more years in the Australian team,” Gilchrist said. “Marcus has had some Test experience, done a lot right in the Shield season. I don’t think we are bereft of strong options, just working out which is the correct one.”The second Australia A match will also be another chance for Cameron Green to impress in what will be his first experience of pink-ball cricket. It remains unlikely he will force his way into the Test side for Adelaide, but his unbeaten 125 and a brace of wickets at Drummoyne continued to mount his case. He will likely be facing Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami as they prepare for the Test series.”I’ve never faced it [the pink ball] before, for whatever reason I keep dodging the day-night games in domestic cricket, so I’ll have a training session today and that will be the first time I’ll face it or bowl with it so that will be pretty interesting,” Green said. “There’s a lot of guys in the team who have played pink ball before so will try to bounce as many ideas off them as I can.”I’ve spoken to a few guys, they say if you are batting at night but you are already in it seems okay, just when you are new to the crease it’s very tough to get yourself in.”From the India attack he faced in the first game, he picked out the “world-class skill” of Umesh Yadav as the most challenging of the bowlers. “He was bowling down breeze on a wicket that had a bit in it so that was incredibly tough,” he said.Bowling-wise, Green said he was on track with where he and the coaching staff had hope he would be as he continues to be limited to a handful of four-over spells. He expects that level to be maintained for at least another couple of weeks before any increase is considered.

Bangladesh are already 374 runs behind with two second-innings wickets left to pick

The Report by Mohammad Isam07-Sep-2019Stumps Afghanistan were in complete control of the one-off Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram after stretching their lead to 374 runs by stumps on the third day. Play ended 20 minutes early after a power failure at the ground shut down the floodlights, which had to turned on because of the dark clouds above Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.After Afghanistan ended the first-innings exchanges 137 runs in front, Ibrahim Zadran, the debutant 18-year-old opening batsman, and former captain Asghar Afghan put them in charge with a 108-run stand for the fourth wicket. Ibrahim made 87 and Afghan 50 as they not only lifted the innings from a precarious 28 for 3 but also put the home side under huge pressure.Ibrahim missed out on becoming the second youngest Test centurion when he fell trying to clear long-on, but his chancy innings provided positive signs for the future in what is a critical juncture in the game for Afghanistan. Afghan supported the youngster with his own brand of solid, stable batsmanship, at times ending up on the pitch trying to defend the spinners well in front of his front pad.Rashid Khan shows off the match ball after returning a five-for•BCB

Afghanistan started the day by taking the two remaining Bangladesh wickets within the first 16 minutes, Rashid Khan picking up a five-for when he sent back last man Nayeem Hasan. But then they ran into early trouble when Shakib Al Hasan removed Ihsanullah and Rahmat Shah, the first innings centurion, off consecutive deliveries in the first over. When Nayeem had Hashmatullah Shahidi caught at slip, for the second time in the game, Bangladesh must have been hoping to trigger a collapse and set up a moderate last-innings chase.But Ibrahim and Afghan were watchful against low, turning deliveries, and although they were fortunate to survive a number of chances that either popped towards the close-in fielders or slightly away from them, they rode their luck. Afghan struck two sixes and four boundaries in his 108-ball innings, but it was Ibrahim’s application that stood out.The tall batsman came down quickly on the ones that kept low, and did a good job of finding gaps to rotate the strike. He also struck six fours and four sixes in his 208-ball knock, the end coming against the run of play. Afsar Zazai’s reaction at the other end – mouth open in horror, seeing the youngster throw it away – when he saw Ibrahim hitting it down long-on’s throat was how most at the stadium felt at the time.Shortly after Ibrahim’s dismissal, Mohammad Nabi fell after hitting his last six in Test cricket, caught at square-leg off Mehidy Hasan.Rashid, however, was more successful in the quest for quick runs, hitting all his 24 runs in fours, five of them coming in a Nayeem over.Zazai remained unbeaten on 34 off 83 balls, and he had No. 10 Yamin Ahmadzai for company when the umpires called off play.

The West Indies pacer said hitting the right lengths helped extract good bounce from a slow surface

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2018Fast bowler Shannon Gabriel commended the West Indies bowlers for making best use of a pitch that was on the slower side, but had enough bounce to keep the batsmen on their toes. Gabriel led the way, snaring his third five-wicket haul in Test cricket and helping bowl Sri Lanka out for 253 on the opening day of the second Test in St Lucia.Dinesh Chandimal had chosen to bat first, the Sri Lanka captain judging the surface to be a good one. But Gabriel provided a preview of things to come when, with just his second delivery, he squared up the debutant Mahela Udawatte with a short of length delivery that jagged away, and had him fending to first slip. He finished with 5 for 59, while Kemar Roach took 4 for 49. Gabriel said hitting that ideal length to generate bounce was key to West Indies’ success.”I think I went out there this morning and concentrated on putting the ball in the right areas, because we knew there was a bit [in the pitch] this morning,” Gabriel said. “Thankfully, things went my way today. I think it was a little slow, but you’re still getting that bounce, so it was important to hit the right areas and the right length. Most of the guys did that today… Roach bowled well this morning, didn’t get the success he deserved.”West Indies took three wickets in the morning session – two for Gabriel and one for Roach. Gabriel could have had a third had Shane Dowrich held on to a leaping catch off the last ball before lunch. Kusal Mendis got an edge on an attempted ramp to a short ball, Dowrich jumped but could only tip the ball over his head for four.Gabriel claimed one more wicket in the post-lunch session by hitting the same back-of-length spot, when he found the shoulder of Roshen Silva’s bat and had him edging to third slip. Roach had more success as the day progressed, getting three wickets in the final session. Despite the dominance of the fast bowlers, Gabriel was also impressed with Devendra Bishoo’s performance and expected the spinners to play a central role later in the game.”I just thought Bishoo was good today, more consistent with his line and length, so hopefully as the game goes on he can play a bigger part.”After the bowlers had played their part, West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Devon Smith saw off the two overs before stumps without any damage. “I think once we get good weather and the sun comes out, it will dry out a bit,” Gabriel said. “And once our batsmen apply themselves and bat long, I think we will be capable of putting up a good score in the first innings.”

India secured a 75-run win in the second Test in Bengaluru to level the series with Australia 1-1

The Report by Brydon Coverdale07-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:48