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On Sunday, November 3, the Indian cricket team suffered a 25-run defeat on day three of the third Test match against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. With that, India went down 0-3 in a home Test series for the first-time ever in history, putting their chances of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final next year at the Lord’s in London in real jeopardy.
In pursuit of a 147-run target on day three of the third Test match, the Indian batting lineup capitulated on a wearing pitch against the spin duo of Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips, who shared nine wickets among themselves. Rishabh Pant kept India in the hunt with an enterprising 64 off 57 with nine fours and one maximum, but shortly after his departure from the crease, the Kiwis ran through the lower order as Ajaz Patel picked up the final wicket of the Test, claiming his 11th dismissal in the match.
India need to win at least four Test matches against Australia down under in BGT
With their third straight Test defeat, India fell to second place in the World Test Championship standings with 58.33 PCT, behind Australia, who got 62.50 PCT in first place. Now, India have a five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test series down under in Australia, and they will have to pull off a stunning 5-0 win, to reach a commanding 69.29 PCT, to make the WTC final without relying on other results.
If India manage to avoid a Test defeat in Australia, to win the five-match series 4-0, they can finish on 67.54 PCT, which will still be enough to reach the WTC final without looking over their shoulders. In all other scenarios in the BGT Test series, India will need the other results to fall in their favour, to take part in the summit clash of the World Test Championship next summer.
Apart from the Indian cricket team (58.33 PCT), the likes of Australia (62.50 PCT), Sri Lanka (55.56 PCT), New Zealand (54.55 PCT), and South Africa (54.17 PCT) are firmly in the hunt, to qualify for the WTC final at the Lord’s in London in 2025.
