India qualified for the World Test Championship final after New Zealand edged Sri Lanka by two wickets off the final ball in a dramatic finish to the first Test in Christchurch on Monday.
Steve Smith has once again proved why he's Australia's go-to man in crunch matches-by eclipsing none other than Sachin Tendulkar in a major ICC knockout record.
Stop clock for Tests, change in DRS protocol, short run penalty, the new rules across formats will come into effect from July 2.
The Proteas, under skipper Temba Bavuma, ended a 27-year-long drought for an ICC trophy by defeating Australia in the WTC final at Lord's recently with Rabada taking nine wickets in the match.
The ICC is considering awarding bonus points for innings victories or for a win above a certain big margin such as 100 runs.
Lord's suffers a loss of 4 million pounds in ticket sales due to India's absence in WTC final.
Australia stormed to the top of the ICC World Test Championship 2025 standings with a thumping 10-wicket victory over India in the second Test at Adelaide.
Former Australian captain Brad Haddin encouraged the Aussie public to go out and watch Indian icons Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in action
South Africa beat Australia by five wickets to win World Test Championship
The much-debated idea of a two-tier Test system, expansion of the T20 World Cup and ratification of new members are some of the topics that will be discussed in depth during the four-day AGM of the International Cricket Council.
Former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri firmly believes Australia should select experienced pacer Josh Hazlewood ahead of Scott Boland for the WTC Final against South Africa in June.
Former No. 1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne will be pushed up in the order to open alongside Usman Khawaja.
South Africa's head coach Shukri Conrad is backing his spin troika of Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy and Simon Harmer to match their seasoned counterparts from India and "make history of our own" in the upcoming Test series
Australia's opening partnership has been the subject of much debate since David Warner retired and remains unresolved less than a month before the World Test Championship final against South Africa.
India will set themselves up as Australia's opponents in that final if they win the fourth Test in Ahmedabad next week.
Australia opener Usman Khawaja has vented his frustration after the team lost 10 World Test Championship (WTC) points for slow over-rates.
Pat Cummins tore through South Africa before a Proteas fightback left the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025 on a knife-edge at the end of an absorbing second day at Lord's.
Pakistan's players were fined 25 percent of their match fee and docked World Test Championship points for failing to maintaining a slow over-rate during the second Test against South Africa.
South Africa clinched their berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final with a thrilling two-wicket victory over Pakistan in Centurion.
'1st look at Inaugural men's test championship wicket. Needs a shave.'
From 'hope to history': Cricketing world explodes with joy as SA finally win major ICC title
Besides, Bangladesh's star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was fined 10 percent of his match fee and received a demerit point for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct.
India lead the table with 360 points and Australia are placed second with 296 points.
Australia and India control their own destiny as they edge towards the conclusion of the competition
South Africa's run to the WTC final has been driven by their dominant performances, especially at home. In those matches, their potent pace attack, featuring Kagiso Rabada (37 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 19.8) and Marco Jansen (29 wickets in 7 matches), has proved to be a game changer.
Pakistan's loss has had a detrimental impact on their WTC aspirations. India continues to lead the WTC table with a commanding 68.52 points in 9 games.
The Pakistan Cricket Board in a bid to attract more crowds to the Test match have for the first time announced free entry for several enclosures.
India stumbled to second place in the ICC World Test Championship 2025 table after suffering a 0-3 series whitewash against New Zealand.
India stayed on course to make it to their third straight WTC final.
Rishabh Pant posted a heartfelt message for Chris Woakes, who had left him with a severe injury during the fifth Test in Manchester early this year.
The win propelled New Zealand from sixth to fourth in the updated standings, with a win-loss percentage of 44.44%,
Australia's senior batter Steve Smith has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's after suffering a compound dislocation of his right pinkie on Friday.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for penalising only England for slow over rates during the third Test against India at the Home of Cricket, Lord's.
'Bumrah's 2024 exploits were a masterclass in skill, precision, and relentless consistency,' ICC said in a statement.
Proteas edge Pakistan to win thriller at Centurion
In the recently concluded five-match Test series against England, India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant stood tall as a beacon of determination, battling through injuries to deliver a string of gutsy, crowd-pleasing knocks that underlined his value to the side.
'There is a lot of inspiration we can draw from in the brand of cricket we have played in the last three or four years.'
Fresh from a hard-fought 2-2 draw in England, Shubman Gill's men will be eager to translate their overseas resilience into home dominance.
South Africa have eight wickets in hand and are now overwhelming favourites to finish off the job, and take the title away from champions Australia, who had set them a daunting fourth innings target of 282 in the final on Friday.
The postponement of the Test series between South Africa and Australia means New Zealand have become the first team to qualify for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final to be held in England from June 18 to 22, with June 23 as the reserve day.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances