WTC Final Scenario: 8 matches and 4 teams, who will play the final of the WTC

By Kaif - Dec 24, 2024 12:10 PM
Last updated on Dec 24, 2024 12:15 PM

WTC Final Scenario: The Indian cricket team is on a tour of Australia, where it is busy in a five-match Test series against the host team. At present, this series is tied at 1-1. Now the fourth match of the Test series will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from 26 December (Thursday). Whichever team wins this match will take a 2-1 lead in the series. Anyway, this match is important for both the teams in terms of reaching the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25.

Who will play the final of the World Test Championship (WTC)

If seen, the picture of the final in the World Test Championship 2023-25 is not clear yet. Only eight matches are left, but four teams are still fully in the race for the final. Apart from India, these include the teams of Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka. New Zealand, England, Pakistan, Bangladesh and West Indies are out of the race for the final. Currently, South Africa is at number one in the WTC points table. South Africa has 76 points from 6 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw in 10 matches. South Africa's point percentage is 63.33. The Australian team is at second place. Australia has 106 points from 9 wins, 4 losses and 2 draws in 15 matches. Its point percentage is 58.89. India, currently at number three, has 114 points from 9 wins, 6 losses and 2 draws in 17 matches. India's point percentage is 55.88. India has to play 2 matches in the current cycle, which are against Australia.

New Zealand is at number four with 48.21 percent points, which is out of the race. On the other hand, the Sri Lankan team is at number five, but its chances of reaching the final are less. The Sri Lankan team has 45.45 percent points and it can reach a maximum of 53.85 percent points. England is at sixth, Pakistan at seventh, Bangladesh at eighth and West Indies at ninth place.

How can Team India qualify for the WTC Final?

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The Indian team will have to win both the Tests against Australia to reach the final easily. If the Indian team draws or loses even one match, it will have to depend on other results.
If the Indian team wins the series 2-1, then it will have to hope that Sri Lanka draws at least one match in the two-match home series against Australia. Or the South African team loses the series against Pakistan.
If the series against Australia is drawn 2-2, then India will finish on 55.26 percent points. In such a situation, the Indian team will reach the final only if Sri Lanka wins 1-0 or 2-0 in the two-match Test series against Australia at home. Or the Pakistani team defeats South Africa 2-0.
If the Melbourne and Sydney Tests end in a draw, then the Indian team will finish on 53.51 points. In such a situation, India will reach the final only if South Africa loses both the Tests to Pakistan or the Sri Lankan team wins the series 1-0 against Australia or ties it 0-0. If the series against Sri Lanka is tied 0-0, Australia will have the same 53.51 percent points as India. But in this cycle, India will be ahead of them on the basis of winning more series. If Sri Lanka wins the series 2-0, then it will be ahead of India.
If the Indian team loses the series against Australia 1-2, then it will be out of the race for the final with 51.75 percent points.

This is the third cycle of the World Test Championship, which will run from 2023 to 2025. For this third cycle, the ICC had already released the rules related to the points system. The team gets 12 points for winning a Test match, 4 points for drawing a match and 6 points for tying a match.

At the same time, 100 percent points are added for winning a match, 50 percent for tying, 33.33 percent for drawing and zero percent for losing. A total of 24 points are available in a two-match series and 60 points in a five-match series. The ranking in the points table is primarily determined on the basis of win percentage. The final of the current cycle of WTC is to be played at the Mecca of cricket, Lord's, from June 11-15 next year.

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