IND v AUS 2020: ICC World Test Championship points table (Updated) as on December 19
Australia overtook the Indian cricket team in the ICC World Test Championship points table because of the new ICC rules. With their win in the historic day/night Test, Australia further cemented their number one spot in the rankings.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first in Adelaide. Although Prithvi Shaw lost his wicket on the second ball, the Indian team finished with a total of 233/6 on day one. Captain Virat scored a fifty while a partnership between Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara contributed 85 runs to the total.
Unfortunately, the lower middle-order could not add many runs as Australia bowled out the visitors for a total of 244. Mitchell Starc was the pick of the bowlers for the home team with figures of 4/53.
Trailing by 244 runs, Australia made a patient start to their innings. Openers Matthew Wade and Joe Burns batted at a strike rate of less than 20. Jasprit Bumrah shone for India as he removed both openers in the first session of the second day.
Ravichandran Ashwin then destroyed the Aussie batting lineup, reducing the home side to 79-5. Marnus Labuschagne tried to rebuild the innings with captain Tim Paine. However, Umesh Yadav's double strike turned the game in India's favor again.
Skipper Tim Paine ensured that his team did not concede a big lead. His unbeaten 73* took Australia close to a total of 200 runs. Eventually, the Indian cricket team took a 53-run first innings lead.
What followed was an absolute disaster. The visitors registered their lowest score in Test history on the third day of the Test. Fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins did not allow a single Indian batsman to reach double digits and wreaked havoc on the lineup.
Mere formalities had to be taken care of after the Indian cricket team's second innings. Australia had to chase a target of just 90 runs. Opening batsman Burns scored a fifty to hand the Aussies an 8-wicket win in the first game of this ICC World Test Championship series.
Here's a look at the updated ICC World Test Championship points table after the first Test between the two sides.
ICC World Test Championship points table
The Indian cricket team still has more points than Australia but their points percentage is much less than the Aussies.
Australia has inched a step close to the ICC World Test Championship grand finale with this victory. Meanwhile, India's percentage has slumped from 75 to 70.59. It will be interesting to see if the Indian team can bounce back in the next Test at the MCG.