Things got tougher for the Indian cricket team after South Africa defeated Sri Lanka 2-0 in the Test series on Monday to climb to the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) table, thus displacing Australia to the second. As things stand, the Proteas just need a win to one Test out of their two remaining games against Pakistan at home to qualify for the WTC final. India dropped down to third in the table after their loss against Australia in the second Test in Adelaide.
As far as Sri Lanka are concerned, they are all but out of the WTC final qualification race, having lost the Test series. The Lankans still have a chance to give it a shot at the WTC final as they play Australia in a two-match series at home, provided other results go their way.
South Africa’s win over Sri Lanka puts India and Australia in a fix in the race for the WTC final, especially Rohit Sharma‘s men as they have only three Tests available. India need to win all their remaining three Tests to qualify for the final without depending on others. A loss would put India in a fix as they would need help from Sri Lanka for a place in the final. Even if India win 3-2 against Australia, they would also want Sri Lanka to beat the Aussies.
What happened in South Africa vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test?
At the St George’s Park in Gqeberha, South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 109 runs in the second Test. The odds favored South Africa, who needed five more wickets, while Sri Lanka needed 143 more runs in a chase of 348. The Proteas ended the fightbacks of captain Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis in the first half hour, before eventually bowling out the opposition for 238 before lunch.
Spinner Keshav Maharaj took three of the five wickets and achieved his 11th career five-wicket haul – 5/76.
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