Friday saw Pakistan defeating the South African Test side in Karachi by seven wickets. The first match of the series also managed to have an effect on their ICC World Test Championship 2019-21 points table.While India still tops the table, Pakistan has scaled up to the fifth spot, pushing South Africa to the sixth position. The official Twitter handle of the International Cricket Council (ICC) posted the picture of the latest standings on Friday, pointing out how Pakistan’s victory had swapped their spot with the Proteas.
After winning the Karachi Test, Pakistan swap places with South Africa and move to the fifth position in the ICC World Test Championship standings.#WTC21pic.twitter.com/O4g0G7mzvY
As per the latest placements, Pakistan has 226 points to their name with a point percentage of 37.7. South Africa, on the other hand, have a point percentage of 34.3 and 144 points in total. However, neither of these two teams stand a chance to qualify for the final of the Test World Cup scheduled to be played at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in the month of June this year. India sits at the zenith with 430 points, followed by New Zealand (420 points). Australia is at the third spot with 332 points. England sits at the fourth position with 412 points. The reason behind their lower standing is their lower point percentage than Australia.
The first Test match between hosts Pakistan and South Africa drew out to the fourth day to reach a deciding point. The visitors were bowled out for 245 runs in the second innings on the fourth day. This left the hosts with only 88 runs to chase in order to seal victory (https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2001944). Batting to chase the meagre total, Pak batsmen managed to succeed in two sessions of the day.
The Karachi Test saw Nauman Ali and Yasir Shah ravaging the Proteas. While Ali picked up five wickets and gave only 35 runs, Shah was only a little behind with a four-wicket haul at the cost of 79 runs. This Test also saw Fawad Alam scoring his third ton in the format.
144/10(17.1) RR 8.39
134/6(13.1) RR 10.17
