New Delhi: The race for the World Test Championship (WTC) final has heated up after South Africa’s thumping 109-run victory against Sri Lanka in the second Test between the two sides in Gqeberha on Monday. South Africa clean swept the two-match series 2-0 with the victory to displace Australia from the top spot in the WTC 2023-25 point table and inch closer to a spot in the final of the competition.
South Africa are now only one win away from confirming their berth in their maiden World Test Championship final. The Proteas will take on Pakistan in a two-match Test series at home next and need to win only one match to make it to the WTC 2023-25 final at Lord’s next year. Meanwhile, India’s chances were dealt with a huge blow after their 10-wicket defeat against Australia in the 2nd Test in Adelaide.
It has become nearly a three-way race for the WTC final with South Africa, Australia and India in contention. Sri Lanka too are in the fray but they only have an outside chance and would require a lot of favours from other teams to reach the final. Currently South Africa occupy the top spot in the WTC points table followed by Australia and India in their 2nd and the 3rd spots, respectively.
WTC 2023-25 points table:
Rank
Teams
Matches
Wins
Losses
Draw
Points
PCT
1.
South Africa
10
6
3
1
76
63.33
2.
Australia
14
9
4
1
102
60.71
3.
India
16
9
6
1
110
57.29
4.
Sri Lanka
11
5
6
0
60
45.45
5.
England
21
11
9
1
114
45.24
6.
New Zealand
13
6
7
0
69
44.23
7.
Pakistan
10
4
6
0
40
33.33
8.
Bangladesh
12
4
8
0
45
31.25
9.
West Indies
11
2
7
2
32
24.24
WTC final scenario explained for all teams:
India
Two-time World Test Championships (WTC) finalists India were once favourites to qualify for a third straight final in the ongoing cycle. However, a disastrous 3-0 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand at home came as a huge blow to India’s chances of qualifying. India sparked hopes of a revival after beating Australia comprehensively by 295 runs in the 1st Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Perth.
However, their 10-wicket loss against the hosts in the second Test in Adelaide has left them in a tricky spot in the race for the WTC final. India need to win all three remaining Test matches against Australia or win two and draw one to be certain of a spot in the final without depending on other results.
If India manage to win all three remaining Test matches against Australia, they will be guaranteed a spot in the final even if Australia go on to beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in their final two-match Test series against the hosts. However, if India lose another Test match in the ongoing series, they might be all but out of the race for the final.
South Africa
South Africa are arguably the favourites to qualify for the WTC 2023-25 final after their thumping 2-0 series victory against Sri Lanka. South Africa have won their last five Test matches in a row to currently sit on the top of the WTC points table. The scenario is pretty clear for the Proteas, who need to win only one more Test match to confirm their spot in the final.
South Africa will take on Pakistan in a two-match Test series at home next and need to win only one of those games to gain their maiden entry in a WTC final. However, if they lose both Test matches against Pakistan, they might miss out on a spot in the final.
Australia
Defending champions Australia are also strong favourites to qualify for the WTC 2023-25 final with 5 matches remaining in the cycle. After suffering a crushing defeat in the series opener in Perth, Australia bounced back to thrash India by 10 wickets in Adelaide in the 2nd Test last week.
If Australia manage to win all three remaining Test matches against India, they will qualify for the final irrespective of the result of their two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. Two wins and a draw in the remaining three Tests against India will also all but guarantee Australia a spot in the summit clash.
However, if Australia manage to win only 1 Test against India and lose the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-3, they will have to win both their Test matches against Sri Lanka to qualify. In case the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ends in a 2-2 draw, Australia will need to win only 1 match against Sri Lanka to qualify.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka have an outside chance of qualifying for the WTC 2023-25 and will need some results to go in their favour to progress. Sri Lanka will have to beat Australia 2-0 in their last series and hope South Africa lose both Test matches against Pakistan which will see them finish in the second spot.
Sri Lanka can also qualify if South Africa manage only a draw and lose one against Pakistan while the Border-Gavaskar Trophy finishes 2-1 in Australia’s favour. In this scenario, Sri Lanka’s win percentage of 53.85% will be higher than that of Australia (53.51%) and India (51.75%).
South Africa are only one win away from securing a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final after beating Sri Lanka by 109 runs in the 2nd Test. As the race for the WTC final heats up, here is a look at what all contenders need to do to make it to the summit clash. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
