The Australian team, which is touring India, is participating in cricket series. Currently Border-Gavaskar Test Trophy is going on between these two teams. In this 4-match series, India won the first two matches and Australia won the third match. The 4th match will be held in Ahmedabad on 9th March.
This series is used to select the teams that will participate in the final of the World Test Championship. Essentially, this series is a life-or-death situation for India. Although the Indian team has already won 2 matches in this series and is at the second position in the World Test Championship, the chances of appearing in the final round are slim.
Meanwhile, after Australia won the 3rd match of the series, it has once again retained the top spot to face the World Test Championship final. India is second in the list, followed by Sri Lanka. Besides, the Test series for Sri Lanka and New Zealand is yet to be completed. This is the problem for the Indian team.
So far, a must-win situation has developed in the 4th match as well. If India wins this match, it will easily enter the 2nd position in the finals table. Else, Indian team’s finals chances will be considered based on the wins and losses of other teams (Sri Lanka – South Africa).
How are India’s chances in the finals?
If India win the 4th Test against Australia, they will easily enter the World Test Championship final without any problem. The reason is that Sri Lanka will advance in the points table based on beating Australia 3-1. Thus the result of the Sri Lanka-New Zealand Test series will not affect the Indian team in any way.
Meanwhile, if the 4th Test ends in a draw and Sri Lanka whitewash the series against New Zealand 2-0, India is likely to drop down from the points table (3rd place). So, the Indian team should focus on winning the match rather than drawing the match. Perhaps if the Sri Lankan team wins less than two matches against New Zealand, they will not be able to progress to the 2nd place in the final round.
That means if Sri Lanka wins 1-1 or 1-0, it will create a favorable situation for India. This problem has arisen because the Indian team failed in the 3rd Test match held in Indore on 1st March.
– J. Prakash