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Sri Lanka made their case of reaching the World Test Championship 2023-25 final strong after they stunned New Zealand in the first Test in Galle on Monday by 63 runs.
With the victory, Sri Lanka leapt-frog to the third spot in the ICC Test standings with 50% PCT. The islanders need to secure a clean sweep against South Africa, and a 2-0 series win against Australia at home to claim their final spot.
India lead the table with 71.67% PCT while Australia sits on the second spot with 62.50% PCT.
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New Zealand, on the other hand, are placed fourth with 42.86% PCT while Bangladesh dropped down to sixth after their loss to India in the first Test last week with current PCT at 39.29%.
Sri Lanka’s victory over the Kiwis, was aided by left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya who notched up a match-haul of nine wickets including a fifer in the second innings.
New Zealand resumed play on the final day needing 68 more runs to reach a victory target of 275. However, the kiwi batters managed to add just four runs before Sri Lanka finished the game in only 3.4 overs.
Overnight batsman Rachin Ravindra, who had kept New Zealand’s hopes alive with a resilient 91 on Sunday, could add just one more run to his total before being trapped leg before wicket by Jayasuriya.
The promising left-hander’s efforts ended as he mistimed a delivery trying to defend on the back foot. New Zealand’s failure to break the crucial 147-run third-wicket partnership between Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne in Sri Lanka’s second innings proved decisive.
After the win, Sri Lanka’s PCT has risen to 50 with 48 points from eight Tests. They have won four matches and lost as many in the ongoing World Test Championship, behind India and Australia in the standings currently. They were at fourth spot before the Test match after Bangladesh had suffered a defeat against India in Chennai, and have now leapt up a spot to third, inching closer to becoming a contender to the ICC WTC final.
Also Read: Ravichandran Ashwin Joins Elite Club: 4x Century And 5-Wicket Haul
The next match of the Sri Lanka vs New Zealand series will be played on September 26 in the same venue.
ICC Test Rankings
Last updated on September 09, 2024
| Position | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
| 1 | Australia | 30 | 3715 | 124 |
| 2 | India | 26 | 3108 | 120 |
| 3 | England | 38 | 4111 | 108 |
| 4 | South Africa | 21 | 2179 | 104 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 22 | 2121 | 96 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 22 | 1833 | 83 |
| 7 | West Indies | 26 | 1192 | 77 |
| 8 | Pakistan | 20 | 1528 | 76 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 20 | 1323 | 66 |
| 10 | Ireland | 5 | 131 | 26 |
| 11 | Zimbabwe | 3 | 11 | 4 |
| 12 | Afghanistan | 3 | 0 | 0 |
