If England beat New Zealand 3-0, 2-0, or 2-1 in the upcoming three-match Test series and the South Africa-Sri Lanka series ends with a scoreline of 0-0, then two wins in the next four Tests against Australia will also be enough for India to finish in the top-two and qualify for the WTC 2025 final.
The Indian men’s cricket team sits at No. 1 position in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 points table with 61.11 PCT%. India leapfrogged Australia (57.69 PCT%) from the pole position after getting the better of the Baggy Greens by 295 runs in the first Test of the ongoing five-match series played at Optus Stadium in Perth.
India needs to win at least three of the remaining four matches of the series to be absolutely sure of finishing in the top-two and qualifying for the WTC final for the third season in a row.
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India played in the finals of the 2021 and 2023 WTC, but on both occasions it ended up on the losing side. India’s hopes of qualifying for the WTC 2025 final took a major hit after it suffered a 0-3 defeat in a home series against New Zealand. However, by getting the better of Australia in the first Test played at Optus Stadium, India has kept its hopes alive.
As of now, India needs at least three more wins to be absolutely sure of finishing in the top two, but the world No. 2 Test team’s task will be cut short if the results of the upcoming three-match Test series between New Zealand and England and the two-match series between South Africa and Sri Lanka go in India’s favour.
While England is already out of the race to qualify for the WTC 2025 final at Lord’s next year, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sri Lanka are competing with India and Australia to finish in the top two.
But if England win the series 3-0, 2-0, or 2-1, then the Kiwis won’t be able to finish the WTC 2023-25 season with more than 50 PCT%. In such a case, even one more win or two draws in the next four Tests against Australia will help India finish above the Black Caps.
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SA vs SL series result
As of now, Sri Lanka sits at No. 3 position in the WTC 2023-25 points table with 55.56 PCT%. If they manage to win both the Tests of the upcoming two-match series against South Africa, then their PCT% will rise to 63.64. In that case, India needs to win at least two more Tests to finish in the top-two.
The 0-2 defeat at home against Sri Lanka will knock South Africa out of the WTC 2025 final race because, in that case, even if they whitewash Pakistan in the next home series, they won’t be able to finish with more than 52.78 PCT%.
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But if South Africa beat Sri Lanka 2-0, then their PCT% will rise to 63.33 and Sri Lanka’s PCT% will drop to 45.45. In such a scenario, even if Sri Lanka defeat Australia 2-0 in a two-match Test series next year, they can’t finish with more than 53.85 PCT%.
If the series ends with a scoreline of 1-1, then Sri Lanka and South Africa will have 54.55 and 53.33 PCT%.
