Following a disheartening Test series loss in Pakistan, England had a lot to think about. However, defeats in Rawalpindi and Multan have dashed Ben Stokes’ team’s chances of making it to the final next summer, so they are no longer concerned about the World Test Championship.
Five teams still have a chance to qualify for Lord’s and compete for the title of World Test champions with 18 Test matches left in the 2023-2025 cycle.
The defending champions Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the defeated finalists from the competition’s first two iterations are all still very much in the running.
Sports media has examined the requirements for each team to secure a top-two position and advance to the final.
Standings for the World Test Championship as of November 5th, 2024. The World Test Championship standings are as follows: South Africa (47.62%), England (40.79%), Bangladesh (30.56%), the West Indies (18.52%), Sri Lanka (55.56%), New Zealand (50%), India (62.82%), and Australia (62.50%).
Each World Test Championship cycle runs for two years. The current one started in June 2023 and ends in June 2025 with the final. Teams play six series throughout that time, three at home and three away, earning twelve points for winning a match, six for a tie, and four for a draw.
The chart is arranged by percentage of points won, though, because teams play varying numbers of Test matches over their six series. Winning (12 points) is therefore 100%, tying (6 points) is 50%, and drawing (4 points) is 33.3%.
A slow overrate could result in parties losing points in the interim. Lord’s in England will host the 2025 World Test Championship final. The five-day contest will begin on Wednesday, June 11.
On Sunday, November 3, India lost the Mumbai Test to New Zealand, severely hurting their chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship for the third time in a row. The Indian side set a goal of 147 runs to pursue at the Wankhede stadium after successfully dismissing New Zealand early in the morning. But even the most passionate Indian cricket fan could not have predicted what transpired next.
When Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed to make an impact during the first session, leaving the Indian batting order reeling at 29 for 5, it would utterly collapse in Mumbai. To give the home team some hope, Rishabh Pant struck a scorching fifty off of forty-eight balls and would go on to assault the New Zealand spinners. Following Pant’s dismissal and after lunch, India would collapse and lose the match by 25 runs. The Blackcaps improved their prospects of reaching the WTC final by winning the series 3-0.
With the defeat, India would drop out of the top slot in the WTC rankings, and Australia would pass them. India had a percentage above 72 at the beginning of the series, but after the Mumbai Test, it fell to 58.33.
Sri Lanka (55.56) is now threatening to overtake India. New Zealand won six of 11 Test matches and advanced to fourth place with a points percentage of 54.55 after their outstanding performance in India. England (40.79%), Pakistan (33.33%), Bangladesh (27.50%), and the West Indies (18.52%) are in sixth, ninth, and fifth place, respectively, followed closely by South Africa (54.17%).
India’s uncertainty at the WTC Final?
Now that they have finished the New Zealand series, India must regroup and prepare for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. To get to the Lord’s final without relying on other outcomes, India will need to win four and draw one of the five Test matches left in the current WTC cycle.
Australia, currently atop the standings, needs to win five of their next seven games in order to go to the final without relying on anybody else. South Africa, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka, which have four, three, and four games left in the current cycle, will need to win every one in order to qualify.
India’s captain Rohit Sharma, who is expecting his second child, might miss the start of their Australia trip in Perth on November 22.
