WTC Points Table Sees Major Twist After Australia's Cape Town Collapse vs South Africa

NDTV Sports · 31 Oct 2026, 7:29 PM IST

Australia had 288 runs to chase on the final day of the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. They folded for 111 in the second innings in less than two sessions. With that, the race to the World Test Championship final has taken an interesting turn. Following Australia's 176-run loss to South Africa, New Zealand have moved to the top of the standings with a 72.22 PCT (Percentage of Points won by a team out of the total points they have contested). Australia (69.23) have dropped to third, while South Africa have rose to second, with the PCT increasing from 66.67 to 71.43.

Before the match, Australia held the top spot, followed by New Zealand and South Africa.

Meanwhile, India also climbed to fourth spot (51.52 PCT) after Bangladesh were beaten by West Indies in Dhaka. Before that game, Bangladesh were fourth with a PCT of 55.56, having won three of their six matches, with one game ending in a draw. India were fifth with a PCT of 51.52, having registered five wins and two draws in 11 matches. The West Indies were eighth with a PCT of 20.83%.

However, the Windies' victory has changed the standings. Bangladesh's PCT dropped to 47.62%, causing them to slip behind India. The West Indies now have a PCT of 26.92% and have moved closer to Sri Lanka's PCT of 33.33%.

The Windies chased down a modest target of 170 on Day 4 of the Test, with Brandon King scoring an unbeaten 81, while No. 4 batter Kavem Hodge also remained unbeaten on 31. The pair helped the visitors chase down the target in just 35.1 overs with eight wickets in hand.

Following the result, Bangladesh slipped to No. 5 in the WTC standings, while India moved up from fifth to fourth. The West Indies remain eighth but have closed in on seventh-placed Sri Lanka.

After the win, West Indies captain Roston Chase said the team aims to finish the WTC cycle in either fifth or sixth place.

"Yeah, well, we came here with a goal to win these two Test matches to go up in the rankings. We want to finish at least sixth or fifth in the table. And to do that, we need to win these two matches," Chase said after the victory.

In the match, left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican and Roston Chase dominated with the ball in both innings. Bangladesh batted first and scored 272, with opener Shadman Islam making 105. Warrican claimed a five-wicket haul and made life difficult for the Bangladesh batters.

In reply, the Windies posted 245, thanks to half-centuries from John Campbell and Tagenarine Chanderpaul, along with useful contributions from Justin Greaves (46) and Chase (43). Off-spinner Nayeem Hasan picked up 4/33.

Bangladesh were then bowled out for 142 in their second innings as Chase returned figures of 5/36 and Warrican claimed 4/63, before the visitors completed the chase with ease.