Team India almost knock out Babar Azam's Pakistan out of WTC final race - Check Details

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Bangladesh picked up where they left off on Day 3 in Dhaka, as Mehidy Hasan Miraz finished off a remarkable five-wicket performance by returning the dangerous Rishabh Pant and the well-positioned Axar Patel. India went seven down for just 74 runs, leaving them absolutely in the dark. The Pakistani team, lead by Babar Azam, was getting ready to celebrate while watching the events of the Mirpur Test from a few ways across to the east. But R Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer had other ideas. As India eventually orchestrated a three-wicket victory, they put on a counterpunching partnership that completely confused Bangladesh.

#TeamIndia strengthen their grip on second position in the WTC rankings following a series victory over Bangladesh.#BANvIND #WTC2023 pic.twitter.com/TmMwrwEPaq

— 100MB (@100MasterBlastr) December 25, 2022

Pakistan out of WTC final race?

With the victory at Mirpur, India completed a clean sweep of Bangladesh, leaving Pakistan's chances of making it to the World Test Championship final precariously precarious. When Pakistan started their series against England at home earlier this month, they had a good chance to go to the WTC final. But Pakistan only received 38.89% PCT after a humiliating whitewash, a first of its sort on home territory.

Pakistan will now play New Zealand at home in a two-match series. If Pakistan can shut out the Kane Williamson-led team, they will finish second overall in the 2021/23 WTC cycle with a 47.62% mark, ahead of India. Iyer and Ashwin's unbroken 71-run partnership for the eighth wicket, India's second-highest ever in the fourth innings of a Test match, strengthened their prospects of reaching the WTC final while making things more difficult for Pakistan.

In addition to winning the series against New Zealand, Pakistan would also like to see India, who is now in second place with a PCT of 58.93%, lose the Border-Gavaskar series at home in a shocking fashion next month. India's PCT would be 45.83% if the outcome was 0–4. In addition, Pakistan needs Australia to whitewash South Africa in their current series, New Zealand to win both of their Test matches against Sri Lanka in March, and West Indies to win one of their two Test matches against the Proteas and draw the other.