India lost the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by 184 runs in Melbourne on Monday, marking another significant setback in its pursuit of a spot in the final of the World Test Championship 2023/25 (WTC).
Australia and India stayed second and third, respectively, in the WTC standings after the fourth Test. India plays its last match in this cycle next week, while Australia has two more after that against Sri Lanka.
On Sunday, South Africa secured first place in the upcoming title match year.
The experienced trio of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli failed to fire once again and returned back to the pavilion in the first session itself for scores of 9 (40 balls), 0 (5 balls), and 5 (29 balls), respectively.
Also Read: Opener with Most runs in a calendar year for India in Test Cricket
After suffering an embarrassing defeat in front of more than 50K fans at the MCG, India’s chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final took a massive hit. However, despite that, India, which sits at No. 3 position in the points table with 52.78 PCT%, can qualify for the final next year at Lord’s against South Africa.
For India to qualify for the WTC final, Rohit Sharma’s men must beat Australia in the fifth Test, which is set to start on January 3, 2025, at Sydney Cricket Ground, and then hope Sri Lanka beat Australia 2-0 or 1-0 in the two-match SL vs AUS Test series, which starts on January 29, 2025, in Galle.
If this happens, then India will finish the WTC 2023-25 cycle with 55.26 PCT%, Australia with a maximum of 53.51 PCT%, and Sri Lanka with a maximum of 53.85 PCT%.
A draw or loss in Sydney will see India eliminated from the WTC final race regardless of the Australia vs Sri Lanka series final result.
If India beat Australia in Sydney and Australia win at least one Test in Sri Lanka then India will get knocked out.
South Africa booked its place in the WTC final for the first time on Sunday, December 29, by defeating Pakistan by two wickets in the first Test of the two-match series played at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
WTC 2024-25 Points Table
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