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‘I guide people to treasures I can’t possess’ – New Zealand beats Sri Lanka by two wickets, ensures India’s qualification for Test Championship final

Sri Lanka needed to win the ongoing two-match Test series against New Zealand by 2-0 to remain in contention for Test Championship final.

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Ahead of the ongoing fourth BGT and the first Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, a spot for the final in Test Championship was open. As Australia won the Indore Test, they qualified for the title clash. With this, India needed to win at all costs in the ongoing game. On the other hand, the Lankan Lions needed to win 2-0 against Kiwis in the two-match Test series.

With both games starting on the same day, the Indian and Sri Lankan fans showed interest in both games simultaneously. Meanwhile, in the SL v NZ game, the home team, Blackcaps elected to field first. However, the visitors amassed a competitive 355 all-out, thanks to half-centuries from skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis and valuable contributions from others.

In reply, the Tim Southee-led side lost six wickets for just 188 runs. At this stage, the team needed someone to step up to take the team close. A hundred from Daryl Mitchell and a half-century from Matt Henry helped the team reach 373 runs, taking a lead of 18 runs. In the second innings, the Lankan Lions amassed 302 runs with former skipper Angelo Matthews scoring 115 runs.

With a target of 285 to chase, the home team had a poor start as they lost three wickets for 90. Also, they were racing against time as the first session of the last day was lost due to rain. However, thanks to Kane Williamson (121*) and Daryl Mitchell (81), the team reached the target with the former scoring the winning run on the last ball of the game.

India has qualified for the final of Test Championship 2023

Meanwhile, with NZ’s win, the Rohit Sharma-led side has qualified for the Test Championship final. After the result, the Indian players were seen congratulating each other ahead of the ongoing second session of Day Five. In the fourth game between India and Australia, the game is heading towards a tame draw with Australia leading by 29 runs and losing only one wicket.

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