India Move Up To Fourth In WTC Points Table After Bangladesh's Loss To West Indies

World Test Championship:  India gained a crucial place in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table after the West Indies defeated Bangladesh in the first Test match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium near Dhaka on Saturday.

The Windies chased down a meagre total of 170 on Day 4 of the Test as Brandon King made an unbeaten 81, while No.4 Kavem Hodge also remained unscathed on 31. They helped the visitors hunt down the target in only 35.1 overs with eight wickets in hand.

After the result, Bangladesh slipped to No.5 in the WTC standings as India moved up from fifth to fourth. West Indies remain eighth but have closed in on the seventh-ranked Sri Lankan side.

Before the game, Bangladesh were fourth with a PCT of 55.56%, having won three of their six matches with one drawn game. India were fifth with a PCT of 51.52%, having bagged five wins and two draws in 11 matches. The Windies chased down a meagre total of 170 on Day 4 of the Test as Brandon King made an unbeaten 81, while No.4 Kavem Hodge also remained unscathed on 31. They helped the visitors hunt down the target in only 35.1 overs with eight wickets in hand.

After the result, Bangladesh slipped to No.5 in the WTC standings as India moved up from fifth to fourth. West Indies remain eighth but have closed in on the seventh-ranked Sri Lankan side.

Before the game, Bangladesh were fourth with a PCT of 55.56%, having won three of their six matches with one drawn game. India were fifth with a PCT of 51.52%, having bagged five wins and two draws in 11 matches in this WTC cycle. The Windies were eighth with a PCT of 20.83%.

However, the Windies' victory has changed the standings. Bangladesh's PCT has dropped to 47.62%, and they fell behind India. The West Indies now have a PCT of 26.92% as they moved closer to Sri Lanka's PCT of 33.33%.

Following the win, West Indies captain Roston Chase stated that the team wants to end the WTC cycle with a sixth or fifth place finish. "Yeah, well, we came here with a goal to win these two Test matches to go up in the rankings. We want to finish at least sixth or fifth in the table. And to do that, we need to win these two matches," Chase said after the win.

In the match, left-arm finger-spinner Jomel Warrican and Roston Chase ruled the roost in both innings. Bangladesh batted first and made 272, with opener Shadman Islam making 105. Warrican picked up a five-wicket haul as he made life difficult for the Bangladesh players.

In reply, the Windies made 245 on the back of half-centuries from John Campbell and Tagenarine Chanderpaul and contributions from Justin Greaves (46) and Chase (43). Off-spinner Nayeem Hasan picked up 4-33.

In the match, left-arm finger-spinner Jomel Warrican and Roston Chase ruled the roost in both innings. Bangladesh batted first and made 272, with opener Shadman Islam making 105. Warrican picked up a five-wicket haul as he made life difficult for the Bangladesh players.

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Article Source: IANS