Double joy as Australia seals WTC final berth; pockets Border-Gavaskar trophy after 10 years

Australia secures spot in ICC World Test Championship final after defeating India 3-1, aiming to defend title at Lord's.

Inside the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), children ran in that fumbling, happy way. The more adventurous ones did the odd somersault. Some of the Australian cricketers were lying sprawled on the grass, allowing all that ecstasy and relief to seep into them while their families hung around.

Beau Webster, with a lovely debut under his belt, stood close to the pitch and posed with his family for pictures. Pat Cummins and his men were in a happy space. And there was double joy to be savoured. Besides defeating India 3-1 to pocket the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia also sealed a berth in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s in June, later this year.

With South Africa having already qualified, the tussle for the second berth was between India and Australia. If the visitors had won at Sydney, then the subsequent series involving Australia and host Sri Lanka, would have had a bearing on the second finalist.

But with a favourable verdict in the fifth Test at the SCG, Cummins and his men will get to defend the title they won in the 2021-23 cycle. Australia has 63.73 percentage points now and is well ahead of India’s 50. Meanwhile, India, after having qualified twice for the WTC final and suffering losses to New Zealand and Australia respectively in those summit clashes, will miss the bus.

Reflecting on the spot in the WTC final, Cummins said: “It’s huge for us, we talk about the World Test Championship a lot. It’s a trophy we are really proud to hold so we want to go back and defend it. To play well consistently across different conditions and against different teams, yeah it’s great, can’t wait to get over there.”