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The win over Australia in the first Test has not only helped India take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing five-match Test series but also moved them to No. 1 position in the WTC 2023-25 points table.
India move to No. 1 position in WTC 2023-25 points table. (Picture Credit: AP)
India beat Australia by 295 runs on Monday (November 25) to win the first Test of the ongoing five-match Test series. In reply to the target of 534 runs, the Aussies could only manage to score 238 runs in the fourth inning of the match played at Optus Stadium in Perth. Travis Head top-scored for the hosts by making 89 runs. Indian captain Jasprit Bumrah picked up three wickets in the second inning as well, and three Australian batters were sent back to the pavilion by Mohammed Siraj.
The win in the first Test has helped India not just go 1-0 up in the series but also take the No. 1 position in the World Test Championship 2023-25 points table. India has 61.11 PCT% now, whereas Australia is in 2nd place with 57.69 PCT%. If India manages to win at least three of the remaining four matches of the series, then it will confirm its place in the top-two of the WTC 2023-25 points table and qualify for the WTC 2025 final at Lord’s next year in June.
World Test Championship 2023-25 points table
| POSITION | TEAM | PLAYED | WON | LOST | DRAW | PENALTY | POINTS | PCT% |
| 1. | India | 15 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 110 | 61.11 |
| 2. | Australia | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 90 | 57.69 |
| 3. | Sri Lanka | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 55.56 |
| 4. | New Zealand | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 54.55 |
| 5. | South Africa | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 54.17 |
| 6. | England | 19 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 19 | 93 | 40.79 |
| 7. | Pakistan | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 40 | 33.33 |
| 8. | Bangladesh | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 27.50 |
| 9. | West Indies | 9 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 18.52 |
India played in the WTC 2021 and 2023 finals as well, but on both occasions ended up on the losing side. In the 2021 final played at Rose Bowl Stadium in Southampton, New Zealand defeated India by 8 wickets, and in the 2023 final played at The Oval, the Pat Cummins-led Australian team hammered India by 209 runs.
Century for Kohli
On Day 3 of the Perth Test, Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten century for India. He came out to bat at No. 4 and scored 100 runs. His century on Sunday was his first triple-digit score in international cricket for India this year. He now has seven Test centuries to his name in Australia. He broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record. During his playing days, Sachin scored six Test centuries in Australia.
During his 100-run knock, Kohli also broke Rahul Dravid’s record of 2143 runs to become India’s third-leading run scorer in Tests against Australia. The overall record of scoring most runs in India-Australia Tests is in the name of Tendulkar, who finished his career with 3630 runs in 39 matches.
