Here’s how World Test Championship Points Table reads after first South Africa vs West Indies Test

Courtesy of a dominant pace attack led by Kagiso Rabada, South Africa clinched the first Test by 87 runs against the West Indies. The two sides locked horns in the first of the two-match Test series played at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.

On Day 3, South Africa were bowled out for 116 runs thereby posting a target of 247 runs for the Windies to chase. What followed was sheer domination by the Proteas bowling unit as Kagiso Rabada struck the early blows who operated in tandem with Marco Jansen to get four wickets for just 20 runs.

The stirring bowling display proved to be the point of difference in the run chase between the two sides. After a top-order collapse, Jermaine Blackwood took the onus of putting the efforts to execute a rescue job.

A spirited Blackwood got the boundaries at regular intervals and registered a half-century off 51 balls. However, with little to no help from the rest of the unit, the batter eventually succumbed under pressure and was sent packing by pace spearhead Rabada for 79 runs off 93 balls.

Seasoned pacer Anrich Nortje and Gerald Coetzee added a wicket each while Marco Jansen got two to his name. However, Rabada’s clinical performance saw him claim a six-wicket haul and completed a major milestone. The ace pacer completed 100 wickets in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) and became the fifth bowler to attain the feat in the tournament. With this, the hosts claimed an 87-run victory to take the lead 1-0 in the two-match series.

What South Africa’s win means for the World Test Championship race

Technically speaking, the Proteas had already dented their chances after repeated blows at the hands of Australia. Furthermore, the winless tour of Australia meant that the side was to depend on the results of the other teams in contention for a spot in the finals of the event.

Team India, who are well placed on the points table further inched closer towards the berth as they beat the dominant Aussies in the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Therefore, a sweep in the series against the Windies will not be enough for the Proteas.

Adding to this, Australia require a win or a draw to cement a place in the finals of the global ICC event. Whereas, Rohit Sharma-led team India will need a win from either of their final two red-ball clashes against the Aussies to make their place.

This essentially means a qualification for the summit clash of the red-ball ICC event is highly-likely to be ruled out for South Africa. In any case, they will look to play for pride and obtain a series sweep against the Caribbean side.

Here is how the WTC Points Table reads after South Africa's emphatic win-

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