UPSC Prelims 2021— Question 10

The inaugural ICC World Test Championship finalists were determined by the points-percentage system after a change necessitated by the pandemic, not simply by total matches won. New Zealand reached the final ahead of England because of its points position, not merely because it had won more matches. Both statements are therefore incorrect. The final answer-key position for Set C identifies option D as the correct option. Option A — 1 only — is not correct because it does not satisfy the specific condition tested in the question; it represents an alternative that is contradicted, incomplete, or less precise than the accepted answer. Option B — 2 only — is not correct because it does not satisfy the specific condition tested in the question; it represents an alternative that is contradicted, incomplete, or less precise than the accepted answer. Option C — Both 1 and 2 — is not correct because it does not satisfy the specific condition tested in the question; it represents an alternative that is contradicted, incomplete, or less precise than the accepted answer. Option D — Neither 1 nor 2 — is correct because it is the alternative that matches the constitutional, historical, geographical, scientific or economic principle established above. For PYQ interpretation, the distinction between the correct alternative and merely related facts is important. UPSC often places plausible distractors beside the precise statement that matches the underlying rule, chronology, definition or empirical relationship. The answer should therefore be read against the exact wording of the question rather than against a broadly related fact.