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On Saturday, October 26, India lost the second Test of the three-match series against New Zealand by 113 runs at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune. With this big defeat on day three of the contest, the Indian cricket team also suffered their first Test series defeat at home in 12 years, and at the same time, it is also their first Test series defeat at home versus New Zealand in history.
The back-to-back Test losses for India against New Zealand have made it difficult for them to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Lord’s in London next year. It’s because their points percentage (PCT) of India on the WTC standings has dropped from around 74 to 62.82 within a space of a week and a half, but still, the Rohit Sharma-led team are on top of the points table ahead of Australia with 62.50.
India need to avoid defeat in remaining six Tests in WTC 2023-25 cycle to make the final without depending on other results
India are slated to play six Test matches in the ongoing WTC 2023-25 cycle, including one against New Zealand and the five Tests versus Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) down under. For the Men in Blue to qualify for the WTC final without depending on others, they will have to avoid defeat in all these six Test matches.
A win in all six Test matches in the WTC cycle will help India finish with a PCT of 74.50, while five Test wins along with a draw will allow them to reach a PCT of 71.05, and and also, the four wins will be enough to make the final next year without worrying about other team’s results. But if they are unable to turn their fortunes around in the remaining few months in Tests, then the likes of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sri Lanka can leapfrog them to make the WTC final.
All in all, India still have their fate in their own hands in regard to making the final of the WTC next year at Lord’s in London, but they can’t afford a slip-up of any sorts in the coming months.
