New Delhi: Sri Lanka registered their third Test win on the trot and completed a series wipeout of 2-0 against New Zealand in Galle on Sunday. They won the final Test of the two-match series by 154 runs to strengthen their chances of making it into the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s in June next year, subsequently leaving Team India in a precarious spot who are almost about to draw their ongoing second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur.
The second and third days of the game were washed out due to heavy rainfall and chances of a drawn game became imminent. Talking about the WTC points table, India currently sit at the top with a PCT of 71.67, having secured seven wins in 10 games. Sri Lanka on the other hand, after whitewashing New Zealand 2-0, have jumped to third place with 55.56 as PCT. Australia are second with a PCT of 62.50.
Heading into the second Test of the series against Bangladesh in Kanpur, India were the favourites to seal a WTC final spot, notably for the third consecutive time in the contest’s history. A win in the Kanpur game would have bolstered their chances as they would have just required three wins for a guaranteed qualification, out of the remaining eight games.
WTC 2025 final – All scenarios explained
However, if the Kanpur Test gets drawn, which seems most likely to be the case, it could leave their chances hanging in balance as they would then have to make a clean sweep against New Zealand (3-0) in the upcoming home series and also would need to register at least two wins out of the five Border Gavaskar Trophy Tests against Australia, later this year.
Sri Lanka will be playing two Tests in South Africa and two at home against Australia, which are their only remaining WTC fixtures. If they are able to whitewash the Proteas, they will almost make it to the final. Although chances of that happening are too low considering their past record there. If they are even able to pull off a 1-1 draw there and win against Australia at home, they will have a PCT of 61.54.
And if South Africa beat both Bangladesh and Pakistan by a margin of 2-0, they will get a PCT of 61.11 which also implies a possibility of a Sri Lanka-South Africa final. This could however only happen if Australia defeated India by a 4-1 margin in the BGT. However, if India concede the series 0-4, Australia will get to a PCT of 62.28 while even a 1-3 loss will leave Rohit Sharma & co. with 62.28 PCT. It won’t matter to Sri Lanka as either way they will be in the finals.
As Sri Lanka whitewashed New Zealand 2-0 in the home Test series, Team India’s chances of qualifying for the 2025 WTC final have been dented a bit, considering the ongoing helpless second Test vs Bangladesh. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
