2-0 victory over England could put India in WTC final

With the series win, India moved to the top of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) standings, both on percentage points and points. New Zealand are at the second spot with 70 percentage points and 420 points while Australia are at the third spot with 69.2 percentage points and 332 points. The top two teams qualify for the WTC final match, to be held in June at Lord’s, London. India now have 71.7 percentage points and 430 points overall. Percentage points determine the final placings rather than total points won after a change to the points system owing to the Covid-19 disruption of the global cricket schedule. India now need to win the upcoming home four-match Test series against England, beginning February 5, with a 2-0 margin to seal a spot in the WTC final. If they lose one Test against England, though, they will need to win three matches.

Rs5 crore bonus

The BCCI today announced a bonus of Rs 5 crore for the Indian team after the series win against Australia.

Pant fastest keeper to reach 1,000 runs

Rishabh Pant today surpassed Mahendra Singh Dhoni to become the fastest Indian wicketkeeper-batsman to reach the 1,000-run mark in Test cricket. Pant achieved the feat in only 27 innings, scoring at an average of 40.04. Dhoni had taken 32 innings to reach the milestone. South Africa’s Quinton de Kock holds the record for being the fastest wicketkeeper-batsman to reach 1,000 runs in Test matches — 21 innings. Besides Pant and Dhoni, five other Indian stumpers (Farokh Engineer), Wriddhiman Saha, Nayan Mongia, Syed Kirmani and Kiran More) have scored over 1,000 runs in Test cricket.

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