Gambhir and Rohit dodge scare in Kanpur as India eyes WTC final ticket against New Zealand after triumphant sweep of Bangladesh

After a 35-over action on Day 1, the final session was unfortunately rained out, leaving the outfield conditions saturated. This raised concerns about the poor drainage system at the venue, ultimately leading to the abandonment of Day 2 and 3. As a result, the chances of a draw in the match increased significantly. This outcome might bring some relief to Bangladesh, who were struggling at 107/3 after suffering a heavy defeat in the series opener in Chennai last month.

India, on the other hand, were left in a precarious spot over their WTC fate, especially after Sri Lanka jumped to third place in the table following a 2-0 whitewash against New Zealand at home. Had it been a draw, India would have required five wins and a draw from their remaining eight Tests, which comprised a home series against the Blackcaps and a tour of Australia.

But India went all guns blazing on Monday as the weather in Kanpur finally cleared up for action. The bowlers picked up the remaining seven wickets for just 126 runs, before the batters scored at a breakneck pace of over 8 runs per over before declaring at 285 for nine, with still 45 minutes left on the clock, during which R Ashwin reduced Bangladesh to 26 for two.

On Tuesday, India took close to three hours to wrap up Bangladesh, who looked in absolute disarray, for just 146 runs in the second innings, thus setting themselves up a target of 95 runs. India chased down the total in 17.2 overs for the loss of two wickets, with Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring a second consecutive fifty in the match.

India remain at the top of the WTC table with a PCT of 74.24 after eight wins in 11 matches in this cycle and have now inched closer to guaranteeing themselves a ticket to the finale. India need just three more wins from their remaining eight Test matches to confirm the berth, implying a whitewash against beleaguered New Zealand, who stand seventh in the table with just three wins in eight matches, would take Rohit's men to the final irrespective of the result in the Australia tour.

India will play three Tests against New Zealand between October 16 and November 5, in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai, respectively.