South Africa played out a draw against Australia in the third and final Test not only to salvage some pride after losing the first two games but also to stay alive in the race for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Australia had an uphill task of extracting 14 wickets on the final day of the Test match in Sydney where more than 150 overs were lost due to the rain and a wet outfield. Australia did bowl South Africa out in the first innings but could only take two more wickets after enforcing follow-on as captain Pat Cummins decided to shake hands with the opposition with five overs still to go.
With the match being drawn, both teams earned four points each, which means Australia’s points percentage (PCT) went from 78 to 75.56. The pacesetters Australia just have one series remaining in the ongoing cycle, that too a big one against India in India. Australia are all but through to the WTC final, but would want to win at least one game in the sub-continent. However, if Australia do lose all four matches, their PCT will come down to 59.6. Australia losing all four matches will mean India earning 48 points from the series and it will send their PCT to 68.05, which means the Rohit Sharma-led side will automatically qualify. But, the Proteas aren’t out of it yet.
South Africa’s PCT currently stands at 48.72 and they have a two-match series at home left against the West Indies. Should the Proteas win both games, their PCT will rise only to 55.5, which means Australia are through more or less.. Thus for South Africa to have hopes of qualifying for the final, they would want Australia to keep winning, but it will be a huge challenge to do that for Cummins and Co., especially in the sub-continental conditions.
For India, on the other hand, they too can’t take their position lightly. Yes, Australia have done them a favour by beating South Africa in a couple of games. India’s PCT currently stands at 58.93. If they win one out of four matches, the PCT will be 51.39, 56.9 if they win two and 62.5 if they win three. Hence, Team India will have to win at least a couple of matches against Australia to ensure that they are in the WTC final for the second consecutive time.
There’s a fourth team, Sri Lanka too in the fray. However, they have a tough ask of beating New Zealand in New Zealand, that too in both the Tests they play there to have a chance, which looks difficult at this point as they haven;t beaten the Black Caps in their own backyard for more than 29 years.
