Indian Thought Latest News & Views
WTC Final: After consecutive defeats against New Zealand on home ground, Team India’s hopes of reaching the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) (WTC) for the third consecutive time suffered a major setback. The Indian team played the final in 2021 and 2023. It had to face defeat against New Zealand and Australia. Now the path to reach the title match for the third consecutive time has become difficult. Team India will have to perform miraculously to reach the final. The WTC final match will be played at Lord’s from June 11 to 15 next year. June 16 has been kept as a reserve day.
Team India lost in Pune after Bengaluru
The Kiwi team led by Tom Latham crushed India by eight wickets in seaming conditions in Bengaluru and the result was similar on the spinning track in Pune. In the second Test, New Zealand completely outplayed India and lost the match by 113 runs. This was India’s first series loss at home in 12 years and its effect was clearly seen on the WTC 2023-25 points table.
Where does India stand in the WTC 2023-25 points table?
After two consecutive defeats against New Zealand, Rohit Sharma’s team is at the top of the WTC 2023-25 points table. However, Team India’s points percentage (PCT) has declined.
How much has India’s points percentage (PCT) dropped in the WTC table?
India had a point percentage (PCT) of 74.24 before the series against New Zealand. India achieved this number after completing a 2-0 clean sweep against Bangladesh earlier this month. However, in less than 30 days, India’s points percentage saw a major drop. It was 68.06 after the defeat in Bengaluru and dropped to 62.82 on Saturday after the 113-run defeat in Pune. Now Rohit Sharma’s team is just 0.32 points ahead of Australia (62.50). The Kangaroo team remains in second place.
What do all the teams have to do to reach the WTC final?
India: To qualify for the third consecutive WTC final without depending on the results of other teams, India will have to win four of their remaining six matches. Apart from this, India will also have to avoid defeat. This can be a difficult task, as Team India has to play five of their remaining six Tests in Australia.
Australia: Australia is the defending champion and a strong contender to reach the final. It needs to win four of its remaining seven matches. Five of these matches will be against India.
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka also has a chance, but for this they have to win at least 3 of their remaining 4 matches and lose some points to India. They have two Tests against South Africa and two against Australia left.
South Africa: The African team is closest to beating India in the race for the WTC final. South Africa still has to play a two-match series against Bangladesh. If they win it, they will have a good chance to beat India. The African team has to win 4 out of the remaining 5 matches.
New Zealand: New Zealand also has a chance to reach the final. However, their hopes have diminished after a 2-0 defeat against Sri Lanka. They have to win their remaining four matches. One of these matches is to be played against India.
Bangladesh-Pakistan, England and West Indies: Bangladesh, England, Pakistan and West Indies will have to show miraculous play to reach the final of the World Test Championship. All three teams have to win their remaining matches. England will have to win 3 out of 3 matches, Bangladesh 3 out of 3, Pakistan 4 out of 4 and West Indies 4 out of 4 matches. Apart from this, these four teams will have to win their matches as well as pray that the teams at the top of the points table lose more matches.
