Australia whitewash Sri Lanka to further enhance WTC tally
What's the story
Australia have successfully wrapped up the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) league stage with a thumping victory over Sri Lanka.
The Australian side registered a nine-wicket win on Day 4 of the second Test in Galle, marking their first Test series win in Sri Lanka since 2011.
This victory comes after their stellar performance in the first Test, where they clinched an innings victory, taking their WTC standings win percentage to 65.74%.
Final standing
Australia's final standing in WTC table
After their second Test win against Sri Lanka, Australia concluded the WTC league stage with a win percentage of 67.54%.
This includes 13 wins and four defeats (2 draws).
However, that wasn't enough to dethrone South Africa who topped the league with a win percentage of 69.44%.
Notably, the two teams will not meet in the 2025 WTC final in June at at Lord's.
Pat Cummins's team will eneter the summit clash as defending champions.
Sri Lanka's standing
Sri Lanka's performance and final standing in WTC
Sri Lanka's dismal show in the series against Australia saw them slip down the WTC table.
After losing the series opener, they slipped a spot to sixth. They recorded five wins and eight defeats in this cycle.
The second defeat saw their win percentage drop further from 41.67% to 38.46%.
Despite having five wins in the cycle, including a 2-0 win over New Zealand at home, Sri Lanka ended this cycle of WTC league stage at sixth.
Upcoming finals
Australia to face South Africa in WTC finals
Australia had already booked their spot in the final after a thumping 3-1 win over India at home earlier this year.
As defending champions, they now have the opportunity to win the coveted mace for the second consecutive time.
The final will see Australia take on South Africa at Lord's in June 2025.
Both sides have been dominant throughout the two-year WTC cycle, with South Africa sealing their spot after back-to-back home wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Standings
How do the other teams fare on the table
India, whose WTC campaign ended with an away series defeat to Australia, finished third with a PCT of 50%.
New Zealand, whose WTC campaign ended with a home series defeat to England, are at fourth with 48.21% PCT.
On the other hand, England are placed fifth (43.18%). They are followed by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh (31.25%), West Indies (28.21%), and Pakistan (27.98).
Summary
How did the second Test pan out?
Fifties from Kusal Mendis (85*) and Dinesh Chandimal (74) helped SL post 257/10 while batting first.
Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann dismissed three batters each.
Australia posted a brilliant 414/10 in response as Steve Smith (131) and Alex Carey (156) made their bat talk.
Angelo Mathews (76) and Mendis (50) were SL's half-centurions in the third innings as they managed 231/10.
Lyon and Kuhnemann took four wickets each. The visitors (75/1) broke no sweat while chasing the target.