The ICC World Test Championship is currently in progress, with 72 matches to be played. The championship started in August 2019 and is predicted to finish in June 2021. The final game will take place at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. However, at the moment, all matches are on hold because of the current worldwide COVID-19 outbreak.
The last match played was on March 13, and Pakistan’s final game was at the beginning of February. Their next match was scheduled for the beginning of April against Bangladesh. Since the start date for all the matches is still to be determined, fans can keep track of live cricket scores online and patiently wait.
Last World Test Championship Game
Pakistan’s last played game in the ICC was against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on the fourth day of the first test. Pakistan managed to score their second win after a skillfully played match led by Babar Azam. With Naseem Shah as the player of the match, who is only 17 years old, Pakistan swiped the competition by an innings and 44 runs. Bangladesh started at 126 for 6 but ended up folding for 168.
Pakistan’s first hour in the game did not look good, especially when they struck on the sixth ball of the day. Mohammad Abbas removed Liton Das in the 58th over. Bangladesh started the game with an early strike when Bangladesh’s captain went in for a review, but there was no evidence the ball hit the bat first. Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi earned all three reds and a wicket.
Early in the game, it looked like Pakistan could get an innings win, especially after Bangladesh got 156 for 8 after losing another wicket. Pakistan’s Yasir Shah got one to pitch in line and trapped the opponent Liton Das in the front. That resulted in Pakistan being a wicket away from 60 World Test Championship points, leaving it with 140 points, just one point behind fourth-placed England.
Bangladesh showed some promise for future games with talented yet undisciplined batsmen. On the other hand, Pakistan has a relatively young team. Their batters and bowlers have great potential to climb up the Test rankings in a couple of years. Pakistan’s captain Azhar Ali admitted that it isn’t easy to win any Test game, which makes this win even more significant. Additionally, he praised the young Shah for managing a Test hat trick with such success.
What’s Next for Pakistan?
After their last win against Bangladesh, one win and one draw against Sri Lanka, and two lost matches to Australia, Pakistan is hoping for another win. Although that’s rarely the case, the schedule was set for a two-month pause between the two games against Bangladesh and Pakistan. Their next match was set for April in Karachi, but unfortunately, it has been further delayed.
Bangladesh was supposed to arrive in Karachi on March 29, scheduled to play an ODI on April 1 and their second World Test Championship game a couple of days later. Even though the streets are still not empty in Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board decided to take precautionary measures and suspend all matches. That means all ICC and PSL matches are postponed until further notice.
Pakistan’s young team is hoping to repeat the country’s success story from 2017 at the ICC Championship. That year, the team did not start well, losing to their arch-rivals India by 124 runs in the first game. However, they managed to get to the semi-finals and beat the favorite, England, and then win their re-match against India in the finals. A similar thing happened this year, with Australia winning the first match by an innings and 5 runs.
Pakistan’s team can only hope for the same outcome and to win the first trophy at the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship of Test cricket.