How India sealed their place in ICC World Test Championship final?

The ICC World Test Championship finally got its two finalists. India’s 3-1 series win helped them qualify for the final of the ICC World Test Championship. India will take on New Zealand at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. Lord’s was the original venue for the final. Due to the bio-secure environment at the Rose Bowl, the match will be played in June.

The journey for India in the ICC World Test Championship was a story of initial dominance and then a blip. However, they bounced back with wins in Australia and they finally sealed their spot with a brilliant slow against England. In the 2019 to 2021 cycle of the ICC World Test Championship, India played three series at home and away. They had series against West Indies, New Zealand and Australia away. At home, they took on South Africa, England and Bangladesh.

India started their campaign on a dominant note, whitewashing West Indies, South Africa and Bangladesh at home. However, their campaign suffered a big blip when they were hammered 0-2 in New Zealand. Their tour to Australia started badly after being bowled out for 36 in the Pink Ball Test in Adelaide. Having suffered three consecutive away defeats, India were in danger of not reaching the final

India bounce back, others suffer

India registered a memorable win in Melbourne. They batted for over 130 overs in the fourth innings to draw the Sydney Test. In Brisbane, India became the first team in 32 years to beat Australia in their fortress of the Gabba. India won a second consecutive series in Australia by winning 2-1. 

The win in Australia boosted them for the series against England and they sealed their spot in the final. They were also helped by the fact that the likes of England and Australia shot themselves in the foot. 

A crucial slip-up by Australia

Australia were penalized four points due to their slow over-rate in the Melbourne Test. That proved to be very costly. In addition, Australia cancelled its tour to South Africa due to concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic. The cancellation of Australia’s tour to South Africa and their over-rate penalty cost them. In hindsight, Australia also missed two chances to dismiss Ben Stokes in the Leeds Test. They lost the match by one wicket. These three chances resulted in Australia losing out on the final.

England lost a crucial Test against West Indies in Southampton but they won the series as well as against Pakistan. Having drawn the Ashes, England won their sixth consecutive Test in Sri Lanka. They also won a series against South Africa 3-1. They suffered a horror show against India which blew their chances of qualifying for the final.

All this helped New Zealand as they had a dominant show at home. New Zealand whitewashed India, West Indies and Pakistan 2-0 at home but their overseas performances were woeful. The series against Bangladesh was cancelled due to COVID-19. New Zealand were whitewashed 3-0 in Australia. Against Sri Lanka, they managed to draw the series 1-1 which helped them end with 70 percentage points. It must be noted that the ICC changed the qualifying scenario to Percentage Points due to the COVID-19 situation.