Thursday Jan 30, 2025
Thursday Jan 30, 2025
Tuesday, 7 January 2025 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Australia claimed a decisive victory over India in the fifth Test in Sydney on Sunday to seal a 3-1 Border-Gavaskar series triumph and earn themselves a spot alongside South Africa at the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2025 at Lord’s in June.
The hosts, inspired by Captain Pat Cummins and a spell of 6/45 by pacer Scott Boland, ended India’s batting resistance early on day three. With 162 needed for victory, a bright start by openers Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja laid the foundation for the chase, and despite the best efforts of Prasidh Krishna’s 3/65, Australia edged over the line by six wickets thanks to a rallying partnership between debutant Beau Webster (39 not out) and Travis Head (34 not out).
The win sees Australia consolidate second position in the ICC WTC standings, with 63.73 percentage points, and barring any significant points deductions in remaining Tests, they move beyond reach of India (50.00) and Sri Lanka (45.45), who had hoped to secure a spot at the showpiece event by breaking into the top two.
Cummins’ men now join South Africa at the Ultimate Test in June, following the Proteas’ successful qualification in last week’s dramatic victory over Pakistan in the first Test in Centurion.
The matchup promises to be a thrilling spectacle, with Australia aiming to defend their 2023 crown and South Africa hoping to win their first ICC silverware in over a quarter of a century.
The ICC WTC Final 2025 will take place at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground from 11-15 June in a week-long celebration of the longest format, with the top two Test sides facing off following two years of intense competition.
Remaining fixtures in the ICC WTC 2023-25:
