India (Commonwealth) _ India’s five-wicket victory against England in the fourth Test at Ranchi on February 26 solidified their position as the World Test Championship’s (WTC) runner-up. In the five-Test series, the hosts, headed by Rohit Sharma, jumped out to an unbeatable 3-1 lead.
After the hard-fought victory, India’s point percentage shot up to 64.58 from 59.52, and they further widened the distance with third-place teams Australia (55%) and Bangladesh (50%), respectively. Conversely, England is mired in eighth position with 19.44%, one point above worst place Sri Lanka, who haven’t even opened an account.
In the current WTC cycle, India has played eight Test matches thus far, winning five, losing two, and drawing one. It appears that England’s “Bazball” strategy hasn’t paid off, as the visitors have only won three games so far, lost five and drawn one.
With 75 percentage points, New Zealand leads the standings despite having just played four Test matches thus far. A victory carries a total of 12 points, a tie results in six, and a draw results in four. Teams are arranged according on their point percentage. The top two teams will advance to the 2025 Lord’s final.
India has advanced to the WTC final on both occasions since the format’s introduction. They were defeated by Australia in the second championship final, although they prevailed against New Zealand in the first one.
If India wins the fifth and final Test at Dharamsala, which starts on March 7, they would have a wonderful opportunity to solidify their second place even further. With a PCT of 64.58, India is now ranked second in the points table and has won five of the last eight matches in the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. During this period, England has lost five of its last nine games and is now in eighth position in the rankings with a PCT of 19.44.England has suffered greatly from this defeat, which also hurts their prospects of finishing in the top two. New Zealand is still leading the other teams, having won three of the last four games in this cycle. After losing to the West Indies in the pink ball Test with a PCT of 55, Australia is currently ranked third. It’s interesting to note that, despite having only played two Tests, Bangladesh is ranked fourth with a PCT of fifty, behind Pakistan and the West Indies in fifth and sixth place, respectively. South Africa, with a PCT of 25, is ranked seventh after losing significant points and sending a second-string side to tour New Zealand.
WTC 2023–25 will include nine ICC full members competing in 27 series for 69 matches in total. The nine teams who are taking part are England, Bangladesh, Australia, West Indies, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.
The World Test Championship does not include any series played against teams that are not members of the ICC. Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan are included in this. In the WTC 2023–25 cycle, each of the nine participating teams will play six series—three at home and three away—consisting of two to five Test matches.
A team will receive 12 points for each victory in the WTC 2023–2025. A draw will net them four points, while a tie will net them six. The points percentage system (PCT) will determine the standings in WTC 2023–25, just like it did in the previous edition. Points a team wins/points contested multiplied by 100 is known as PCT.
June 16, 2023 marked the start of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023–2025. June 2025 will mark its conclusion. The third ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2023–25) is being hosted by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The third cycle of the ICC World Test Championship began in June with the England vs. Australia Ashes 2023 series. At 2-2, the five-game series concluded in England.
After defeating India by 209 runs in the 2023 World T20 Championship final at The Oval, the Australian cricket team is the reigning champions. After defeating India in the 2021 championship match, New Zealand became the first WTC champions.
