WTC Final: Australia qualifies for WTC final with a win over India in Indore Test

WTC Final: India was stunned by Steve Smith’s Australia in the third Test of Border Gavaskar Trophy in Indore. Australia defeated the hosts by 9 wickets inside three days of the third Test and now they have booked a berth in the WTC final.

Coming into this series, Australia only needed a solitary win to qualify for World test Championship final. On the other hand, after a defeat in Indore Test, India would have to wait for their chance to qualify in WTC final as they need to win the fourth and final Test in Ahmedabad slated to take place from 9th March.

WTC Final

Australia’s latest triumph was architect by veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon who scalped 11 wickets in the match. He bowled better than Ravichandran Ashwin throughout the match as he was trusting his skills and bowling the stock balls, unlike Ashwin who always tries different things rather than sticking to the basics.

Ashwin returned only 4 wickets in the match, whereas Lyon was all over his counterpart with 11 scalps against his name. Besides Lyon, Australia nervy batting lineup sticked to a plan of not sweeping the ball much. The plan worked and despite not scoring big runs, they scored enough to outlast India’s score.

Remaining ICC World Test Championship Fixtures

A total of 4 Tests are remaining in this year’s WTC cycle,

• South Africa v West Indies (Second Test) – Johannesburg, South Africa, 8-12 March
• New Zealand v Sri Lanka (First Test) – Christchurch, New Zealand, 9-13 March
• India v Australia (Fourth Test) – Ahmedabad, India, 9-13 March
• New Zealand v Sri Lanka (Second Test) – Wellington, New Zealand, 17-21 March

A victory in the final Test for India will seal their WTC final berth. However, if the Test ends in a draw or defeat for India, Sri Lanka will have an outside chance to set a date with Australia in the finals. However, they need to complete a 2-0 clean sweep over the Blackcaps.