WTC champions New Zealand of the first edition of the ICC World Test Championship began their latest WTC campaign earlier this week against West Indies, who are yet to make an entry in their points table despite playing many games.
The New Zealand national cricket team is one of the most famous names in the history of the ICC World Test Championship. New Zealand were the champions of the first WTC Final in 2021 when they defeated India in the final.
New Zealand begin their campaign with a clash with West Indies, who will tour the island nation in December 2025 for a 3-match series in the longest format of the game. The Windies have lost all the matches so far, including three against Australia and two against India.
Under the leadership of Rachin Ravindra, New Zealand moved forward to achieve a big target
After a disappointing first innings, where Kane Williamson remained the pick of the batsmen, New Zealand bounced back under the leadership of Rachin Ravindra.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham played a brilliant innings at the top of the order, but needed some support with two early dismissals in the innings. Just then, Rachin Ravindra stepped up and supported Latham’s century with another century.
The partnership between the two broke records, crossing the 200-run mark and New Zealand scored 400+ runs, which, combined with the lead from the first innings, could have set the visitors a target of 531 runs.
Justin Greaves shows courage to give West Indies the first point in the WTC points table
West Indies have struggled with the batting as their top order has consistently failed to make significant contributions. Even during the first innings, West Indies got out without crossing the 200-run mark.
In the second innings of the game, West Indies batsmen Shai Hope and Justin Greaves handled the innings. Hope, the only reliable player in the unit, scored a century and was supported by lower-order batsman Greaves.
Greaves’ century was a slow one and his innings was all it took to save the Windies from a collapse that could have seen them lose another point in the WTC. Instead of opting to win, he combined with Kemar Roach to further stabilize the innings and help draw the game with 4 wickets remaining.
ICC World Test Championship points table (updated)
| Situation | Team | played | won | lost | Drag | dead | score | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 100.00 |
| 2 | South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 75.00 |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 66.67 |
| 4 | Pakistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 50.00 |
| 5 | India | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 48.15 |
| 6 | England | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 36.11 |
| 7 | new zealand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 33.33 |
| 8 | bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 16.67 |
| 9 | west indies | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5.56 |
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