In the absence of an injured Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope-led England beat Sri Lanka by five wickets at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester to jump three places and occupy the fourth spot on the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 table.
Joe Root's gritty half-century helped England chase down the target of 205 on Day 5 of the clash. England have seven wins from 14 games and a win percentage of 41.07, just over Sri Lanka who lost the Test despite a spirited show in Manchester. As a result, South Africa and Pakistan slipped one place each to sixth and seventh respectively.
England are currently alive in the race of WTC final qualification. They are yet to make it to their first ever WTC final. Had it not been the deduction of 19 points due to slow over rate, they would have been in a better position.
How the table will look after PAK vs BAN 1st Test
Meanwhile, Shan Masood-led Pakistan are struggling in the first Test of the two-Test series against Bangladesh at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Ahead of Day 5, Pakistan are trailing by 94 runs as Bangladesh posted a mammoth total of 555 in first innings on the back of Mushfiqur Rahim's 191.
The first Test is likely to end in a draw. If that happens, Pakistan will remain at the seventh place. If they manage to win, they will rise to the fourth spot which seems unlikely. However, if they suffer a batting collapse and lose to Bangladesh, they will slip to eighth position. A win will help Bangladesh rise to the sixth spot.
WTC 2023 finalists on top
Currently, India and Australia are placed first and second on the points table respectively. India have 74 points from nine Tests ahead of the two-Test series at home against Najmul Hossain Shanto's Bangladesh. Reigning champions Australia have eight wins from 12 Tests months ahead of the Border-Gavaskar series later this year.
| Position | Team | Matches | Points | PCT |
| 1 | India | 9 | 74 | 68.51 |
| 2 | Australia | 12 | 90 | 62.50 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 6 | 36 | 50 |
| 4 | England | 14 | 69 | 41.07 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | 5 | 24 | 40 |
| 6 | South Africa | 6 | 28 | 36.66 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 5 | 22 | 36.54 |
| 8 | Bangladesh | 4 | 12 | 25 |
| 9 | West Indies | 9 | 20 | 18.52 |
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
