New Delhi: World Test Championship 2021-23 is about to reach its finals and with only three series left in the bank, most of the teams are out of the race. Currently, India, Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa are running in the race for the finals while England and the West Indies have slight outside chances to make it. Australia with 75.56% and India with 58.93% are the top two teams right now, and they are to face each other in India next.
How the #WTC23 standings look after the #AUSvSA Test series ?
State of play ? https://t.co/HMBv3B49lr pic.twitter.com/RMIFTD6AO4
— ICC (@ICC) January 8, 2023
The fixtures left include India-Australia four-match series in India, a New Zealand-Sri Lanka two-match series in New Zealand and the West Indies-South Africa two-match series in the latter.
The defending champions New Zealand will be missing out this time while the runner-up India has a strong chance to get redemption this time.
Can India qualify for the WTC finals?
India has played 14 Tests in this cycle and has won eight to earn 99 points. India needs to win the series against Australia 3-1 or better, to qualify for the final regardless of the results in the rest of the two series. If the Border Gavaskar Trophy ends at 2-2, and Sri Lanka beats New Zealand 2-0, then Sri Lanka will take India’s spot in the finals. In case of a 1-1 draw or less, India can even slip behind the Proteas if they beat the Windies 2-0.
Which other teams can qualify?
A profitable #WTC23 period with the bat ?
How the best in the game amassed their runs ? https://t.co/3cBiwPqjVu pic.twitter.com/nFB0ag9dsF
— ICC (@ICC) January 9, 2023
Australia: Aussies are in great form and with a 2-0 win over South Africa, they stand tall to qualify for the finals. The only case in which Australia misses out is if they lose all four Tests in India and Sri Lanka wins 2-0 in New Zealand.
South Africa: A draw in Sydney was helpful to keep the Proteas alive in the race. If South Africa beats the West Indies 2-0 at home, they will attain 55.56%. For them to qualify, they would need Sri Lanka to get not more than one win against New Zealand and India to end up with less than 21 points in the series (a 1-1 draw gives 20 points in 4-match series).
Ever-reliable with the ball ?
Experienced stars lead the way in #WTC23
More ? https://t.co/8MLBV9FBdl pic.twitter.com/GDeLMT9tLE
— ICC (@ICC) January 9, 2023
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka stands in a complex scenario dependent on other results. If they win 2-0 against New Zealand, they can qualify in the following scenarios: India either wins all four games against Australia or the series ends in a draw or Australia wins the series. If the series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand ends in a 1-1 draw they will need Australia to win the series 3-1 or 1-0 and South Africa to get not more than 16 points (less than or 1-0 series win).