Australia won the Ashes series opener on Saturday by nine wickets at the Gabba to go 1-0 up in the series. After a great fightback on Day 3, England crumbled like a pack on Day 4 and lost their last eight wickets for 77 runs in the morning session. Nathan Lyon (4/91) spun a web around the batters and also claimed his 400th test wicket in the form of Dawid Malan (82). England were bowled out on 297, with a minuscule lead of 19 runs. Australia chased down the target in 5.1 overs with the loss of one wicket and went 1-0 up in an emphatic fashion. Travis Head was named Player of the Match for his terrific hundred.
With this sensational performance, Australia has opened their account in the World Test Championship. Aussies climb to the second spot in the points table, while Sri Lanka holds onto the number one position. India slips to the fourth spot. Babar Azam-led Pakistan is currently at the third spot with 75 percentage points having won three and lost one.
Joe Root-led England side suffered another blow after ICC penalized the team for slow over-rate. They were docked five World Test Championship points for slow over-rate in the first Ashes Test against Australia in Brisbane. That means, England now only has nine points with 15.00 percentage points. They are at 7th place only ahead of Bangladesh. Currently, Sri Lanka and Australia are the only sides that are yet to lose a match in this cycle. Bangladesh and defending champions New Zealand are the only sides that are yet to win a match.
Why are India at 4th position?
As per the new format announced by ICC, teams will be awarded a total of 12 points for each match they win in this cycle, six for a tie, four for a draw, and zero for a loss. The teams will be ranked on the basis of the percentage of points won. The standings will be determined on the percentage of available points collected.
According to the ICC, this system allows the relative performance of teams to be compared at any point in time. That means the cancellation of any matches or series for any reason does not directly impact the points table. It will also standardise the imbalance in the number of matches played by teams.
So far, India has won two tests, lost one, and drawn two. Virat Kohli led side is at the fourth position with 42 points, a winning percentage of 58.33. While Pakistan has a PCT of 100%, Australia with 100%, and Srilanka with 75%, as a result, they’re placed above India in the WTC points table.