World Test C’ship: England keep alive hopes of making final after Chennai win, India slip to 4th position

Dubai: England’s winning start against India in their ICC World Test Championship series on Tuesday kept alive the visiting side’s hopes of making the final of the nine-team competition.

England secured a 227-run win at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, to take a 1-0 series lead in the four-match series over Virat Kohli’s side.

The victory in the first Test lifted England to first place and 70.2 percentage points on the points table and they’ve improved their chances of securing one of the three series results in their favour that could see them through to the final - 3-1, 3-0 or 4-0.

New Zealand have already qualified for the final winning 70.0 per cent of their matches (with no other series scheduled) while India and Australia remain in contention for the other place along with England.

India, who have slipped to fourth position with 68.3 percentage points, cannot afford another loss in the four-match series and will be looking to win at least two of the remaining three matches to secure a 2-1 or 3-1 result and a place in the final.

Australia will get to feature in a Trans-Tasman summit clash if the India-England series is drawn or if England win 1-0, 2-1 or 2-0.

Pakistan’s 2-0 home win over South Africa sees them finish the series in fifth position with 43.3 percentage points, while South Africa slip to sixth position with 30.0 percentage points.

West Indies are seventh with 23.8 percentage points after their epic victory in the first Test against Bangladesh, who are last on the table and yet to win a point. (UNI)