Bhubaneswar: India qualified for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final of the 2021-23 cycle at The Oval, starting June 7, for the second successive time after New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by two wickets in a thrilling last-ball win at the Hagley Oval on Monday.
This came even before the culmination of its fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test against Australia in Ahmedabad, which is heading towards an inevitable draw.
The Men in Blue will now face Australia in the WTC final at the Oval in London from June 7-11, nine days after the IPL 2023 final in India.
After Australia qualified for the final after winning the 3rd Test against India in Indore earlier in the month, only India and Sri Lanka were in the race. India needed to avoid losing more than 1 Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and hope New Zealand don’t suffer a 2-0 whitewash in their Test series at home. After 2-1 series lead in the opening three of four Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests at home against Australia, Sri Lanka’s defeat to New Zealand ensured that India met Australia in the WTC final.
Top two teams qualify for the championship final.
India, under Virat Kohli, had lost the inaugural World Test Championship final to New Zealand in 2021.
