Lovers of Test match cricket were treated with an absolute thriller of a game between India and Bangladesh at the Sher-E-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. While the home team were outplayed comfortably in the end in the series opener, the second Test match was nothing like it at all. In fact, the hosts seem to be running away with the game at one stage before India somehow found a way to keep alive their unbeaten status against this opposition in the purest form of the game.

Staring at defeat at 7 down 74, in pursuit of 145, in the fourth innings of a Test match where the ball was beginning to turn square, the Indian camp would definitely be nervous but thanks to Ravichandran Ashwin's unbeaten 42 and Shreyas Iyer's 29*, India wrapped up the game, winning by 3 wickets and clinching the series 2-0.

It was Ashwin who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his all-round performance in the match, scalping 6 wickets before his match-winning contribution with the bat. In addition, Cheteshwar Pujara won the Player of the Series honour for contributing 222 runs in the 2 Tests.

Here is a look at India's Updated Standings in the World Test Championship 2021-23 Table after India's Win over Bangladesh:

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

PCT (%): Percentage

L: Number of matches lost
SER: Number of series played
PTS: Number of points awarded
D: Number of matches drawn
PEN: Number of penalty overs
W: Number of matches won

Battle For Top Two Spots Set For An Exciting Finish

What the latest standings suggest is that current table toppers Australia along with India and South Africa are in with a real chance of making it to the World Test Championship final this year. If Australia beat South Africa 3-0, then the equation would be simple for India, win by any margin against the Kangaroos when they travel to India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but if South Africa win any of the remaining two Test matches and then go on to hand West Indies a defeat by 2-0, India would then be required to win the series against the Aussies 3-1, 3-0 or 2-0 to play the summit clash of this cycle of the championship.