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Q60 (IAS/2021) Miscellaneous & General Knowledge › Sports, Games & Awards › Cricket records and tournaments Official Key

Consider the following statements in respect of the ICC World Test Championship : 1. The finalists were decided by the number of matches they won. 2. New Zealand was ranked ahead of England because it won more matches than England. Which of the above statements is/are correct?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: D
Explanation

The correct answer is Option 4 (Neither 1 nor 2) because the qualification criteria for the ICC World Test Championship (2019–2021) were based on percentage points, not the absolute number of matches won.

  • Statement 1 is incorrect: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting the schedule, the ICC shifted the ranking criteria from total points earned to the Percentage of Points (PCT) earned from the matches played. This ensured a fair comparison between teams that played a different number of series.
  • Statement 2 is incorrect: New Zealand qualified for the final ahead of England because they had a higher PCT, despite winning fewer matches. New Zealand won 7 matches (PCT 70.0), whereas England won 11 matches (PCT 61.4) during the league stage. England's lower percentage was due to a higher number of losses and draws relative to the total matches played.

Since both statements are factually inaccurate regarding the tournament's methodology and outcomes, Option 4 is the right choice.

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Q. Consider the following statements in respect of the ICC World Test Championship : 1. The finalists were decided by the number of matches…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 5/10
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This is a 'Rule Change' question disguised as sports trivia. The shift from 'Points' to 'Percentage of Points' (PCT) was a major controversy in 2020 due to COVID cancellations. Strategy: In sports, ignore scorecards; focus on controversial rule changes, new formats, or major awards (Laureus/Khel Ratna).

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Were the finalists of the ICC World Test Championship 2019–2021 (final held in 2021) decided based on the number of matches won?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable
Web / Current Affairs
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"PT: Number of points awarded PCT: Percentage"
Why this source?
  • Explains the points-table legend used by the World Test Championship includes PT (points) and PCT (percentage), indicating standings are by points/percentage, not simply raw wins.
  • Presence of a separate 'PCT: Percentage' field implies ranking uses a percentage metric rather than solely the number of matches won.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"M: The number of matches played W: The number of matches won"
Why this source?
  • Shows the points-table columns include both M (matches played) and W (matches won), implying multiple metrics are tracked.
  • Combined with passage [1]'s PCT field, this indicates the table uses points/percentage as the determinant rather than only the count of matches won.
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