India one draw away from qualifying for WTC final

Ahmedabad, Feb 26 (IANS) India's victory over England in the third Test has put them on the cusp of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The result knocked England out of contention for the final which is scheduled to be held from June 18 at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground in London.India beat England by 10 wickets on an extraordinary second day of the only day-night Test of the series at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera. The hosts thus took a 2-1 lead in the four-match series and propelled themselves to the top of the WTC standings with 71 percentage points while England dropped to fourth with 64.1 percentage points. While India's current standing is above that of New Zealand, who have already confirmed a spot for themselves in the WTC final, Virat Kohli's team still need a win or draw in the final Test against England to qualify. In case they lose the fourth Test, the series will end in a 2-2 draw with England having won the first Test and it will be Australia, who are third on the WTC standings with 69.2 percentage points, qualifying for the final. The final Test of the series will be played from March 4 at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
--IANS rkm/