ICC World Test Championship points table (Updated) after India vs New Zealand 2021 Test series
India tightened their grip over third spot in the ICC World Test Championship standings by defeating New Zealand in the Mumbai Test match. Courtesy of the win at the Wankhede Stadium, the Virat Kohli-led outfit secured a 1-0 victory in the ICC World Test Championship series against defending champions New Zealand.
Virat Kohli returned to the Indian team for the Mumbai Test after a brief break. He called the coin toss right and decided to bat first. A splendid century from Mayank Agarwal and Axar Patel's maiden Test fifty helped India post a 325-run total in the first innings.
Ajaz Patel made history at the Wankhede Stadium, becoming the first Kiwi bowler to take all 10 wickets in one innings of an international match. However, none of the other New Zealand players were as impressive as Ajaz in the Mumbai Test.
A disappointing performance from the Kiwi batters ensured India took a massive 263-run first-innings lead. Ravichandran Ashwin's four-wicket haul helped India bowl New Zealand out for just 62 runs in the first innings.
Captain Kohli then decided against enforcing a follow-on. The home side scored 276 runs in the second innings, riding on Mayank Agarwal's fifty and set a 540-run target for the Blackcaps.
New Zealand's batters performed better in the second innings. Daryl Mitchell scored a fifty, while Henry Nicholls aggregated 44 runs. However, their contributions were not enough to stop the Blackcaps from suffering their biggest defeat in Test cricket history.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Jayant Yadav scalped four wickets each in the second innings as India bowled New Zealand out for 167 runs and won by 372 runs.
ICC World Test Championship Points Table As on December 6
India's points percentage has increased from 50% to 58.33% after the victory in Mumbai. Meanwhile, the Blackcaps' percentage has dropped from 33.33% to 16.66%. They have slipped below England and West Indies in the ICC World Test Championship points table.
Pakistan and Bangladesh are currently in action in Dhaka, playing the second match of their series. It will be interesting to see if Bangladesh can overtake the Blackcaps by winning the ICC World Test Championship match against Pakistan.