It looked for a while that a damaging defeat was on the cards for India in Dhaka in the second Test against Bangladesh. Damaging not just because it was a Test they were letting slip from strong positions, against an opposition they had never lost against in this format... but because it would have made their dream of reaching the ICC World Test Championships final for the second time that much more harder.
But a thrilling win, led by a brilliant eighth-wicket partnership between Shreyas Iyer and R Ashwin, took them past the finish line on Sunday. With it, India consolidated their second spot in the standings behind Australia. The 12 points earned resulted in India extending their advantage over South Africa, with their win-percentage improving from 55.77 to 58.93.
With their win in the first Test, India had moved to third in the table. Shortly after that, South Africa lost against Australia within two days in Brisbane and that further moved KL Rahul and Co to second spot which they now hold on to.
On Monday, South Africa take on Australia in the Boxing Day Test and a win for the hosts will only strengthen the chance of a India-Australia final. (And a fascinating Border-Gavaskar Trophy coming up shortly).
After BANvIND 2nd Test
| POS | TEAM | PCT (%) | PTS | MATCHES: W-L-D | SER | PEN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AUSTRALIA | 76.92 | 120 | 9-1-3 | 5 | 0 |
| 2 | INDIA | 58.93 | 99 | 8-4-2 | 5 | -5 |
| 3 | SOUTH AFRICA | 54.55 | 72 | 6-5-0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | SRI LANKA | 53.33 | 64 | 5-4-1 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | ENGLAND | 46.97 | 124 | 10-8-4 | 6 | -12 |
| 6 | WEST INDIES | 40.91 | 54 | 4-5-2 | 5 | -2 |
| 7 | PAKISTAN | 38.89 | 56 | 4-6-2 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | NEW ZEALAND | 25.93 | 28 | 2-6-1 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | BANGLADESH | 11.11 | 16 | 1-10-1 | 6 | 0 |