England started the new year with an impressive victory against South Africa in the second Test at Cape Town. The team defeated the Proteas by 189 runs after Ben Stokes pierced through the lower-middle order with his impeccable bowling skills.
The hosts were given a target of 438 runs in the fourth innings after an amazing century from Dominic Sibley took the visitors to a total of 391 for the loss of 8 wickets in the second innings. In reply, South Africa started the chase on a good note but could not carry the moment after a steady start provided by openers Pieter Malan (84 runs) and Dean Elgar (34 runs).
Quinton de Kock and Rassie Van der Dussen gave a little hope to the South African team but as soon as their wickets went down, a loss for South Africa was inevitable.
Stokes then produced a magical spell and annihilated the lower-middle order in just two overs to take his team to a historic victory. After the win, there were some changes to the points table of the ICC World Test Championship.
The side led by Joe Root has now crawled up to the third spot in the table with 86 points from the 7 Tests they have played so far in the championship. With a victory over the Proteas, the side has leapfrogged teams like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand. On the other hand, South Africa has lost four out of the five games they have played in the championship.
The Rainbow Nation has a total of 30 points as of now. The third Test match of the series will begin on January 16 at Port Elizabeth.
Meanwhile, Australia has moved closer to India’s numero uno position with a clean sweep against New Zealand. The Aussies won the first game by a whopping margin of 296 runs while the Tim Paine-led side won the second Test by 247 runs. The third and final Test match was won by the Kangaroos by 279 runs and completed the clean sweep.
They now have 296 points in 10 matches.
The Indian cricket team is still at the top of the table with 360 points in just 7 games.
Here’s the updated points table of ICC World Test Championship:
India – 360 points
Australia – 296 points
England – 86 points
Pakistan – 80 points
Sri Lanka – 80 points
New Zealand – 60 points
South Africa – 30 points
West Indies – 0 points
Bangladesh – 0 points
