World Test Championship: The 2025-27 edition of the World Test Championship is progressing in an exciting manner. The Indian cricket team is currently on New Zealand tour. Where, a 2-match test series will be played between the two teams from November 19. This series is going to be very important for India from the point of view of WTC. By winning this series, the Indian cricket team will have a chance to reach the top-3 in the points table of the World Test Championship and with this, Team India will also remain in the race for the finals. So let us tell you about that equation here…
At what position is India in the points table now?
Currently, the Indian cricket team is at fourth position in the points table of the World Test Championship. Team India has played 11 matches so far, in which it has won 5 matches and lost 4 matches. In this way, Team India is at fourth position in the points table with 68 points and 51.52 PCT. At the same time, New Zealand team is at the first position in the points table with 52 points and 72.22 PCT.
|
rank |
Team |
match |
score |
PCT (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
New Zealand |
6 |
52 |
72.22 |
|
2 |
South Africa |
7 |
60 |
71.43 |
|
3 |
Australia |
13 |
108 |
69.23 |
|
4 |
India |
11 |
68 |
51.52 |
|
5 |
bangladesh |
8 |
44 |
45.83 |
|
6 |
England |
16 |
74 |
38.54 |
|
7 |
Sri Lanka |
7 |
28 |
33.33 |
|
8 |
west indies |
14 |
46 |
27.38 |
|
9 |
Pakistan |
10 |
9 |
7.50 |
How will Team India reach top-3?
If the Indian cricket team wins the 2-match Test series with New Zealand by 2-0, then they will have 58.97 percent points in their account. In such a situation, India will move up one place to third position. Australia and South Africa will also benefit from this victory of India. South Africa will reach first and Australia will reach second. After losing both the matches, New Zealand team will slip to fourth position.
If this happens, India will remain at fourth position
If the India vs New Zealand Test series ends in a 1-1 draw, then Team India will not get any benefit from it. India will remain at fourth position with 51.28 percent marks. However, New Zealand will slip to third place with 66.67 percent marks.
Now even if India wins this 2-match test series by 1-0, Team India will remain at the fourth position. Even if India wins one match of the series and one remains a draw, there will be no change in the position of Team India. In this situation also New Zealand will slip to third position.
Team India's problems will increase if it loses.
If Team India loses the 2-match Test series played with New Zealand by 0-2, then it will be difficult for it to reach the final of the World Test Championship. India will slip to fifth position with 43.59 percent marks. Whereas Bangladesh will come fourth and New Zealand will remain at the first position. Therefore, if Team India wants to move ahead, then it will have to win the Test series played with New Zealand at any cost.
How will India be able to make it to the WTC final?
If Team India wants to get a direct ticket to the final without any 'if-buts' or depending on the results of other teams, then it will have to perform charisma. India still has a total of 7 Test matches left, in which 2 matches are to be held against New Zealand at home and 5 matches are to be held against Australia on their home soil. If the Indian team is successful in winning all 7 out of these 7 matches, then its PCT will increase to 70.37%. With this magical figure, Team India will qualify for the finals for the third time without being dependent on any team.
What will happen if New Zealand wins the series 2-0?
If the New Zealand cricket team is successful in winning the two-match Test series 2-0 against India on its home ground, then there may be a big upheaval in the points table of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27. Yes, if the Kiwi team wins, it will get a total of 24 points. Its points will increase from 52 to 76 and PCT will increase from 72.22 to 79.17. In such a situation, the Kiwi team will further strengthen its position in the points table.
Therefore, if New Zealand wins both the matches, the tension will increase not only for India but also for South Africa and Australia. Since, both these teams are currently occupying the second and third position in the points table and are in the race for the WTC final.
India-New Zealand head to head
A total of 65 test matches have been played between India and New Zealand so far. In this, Team India has won 22 matches, while New Zealand team has won 16 matches. In such a situation, it would not be wrong to say that the Indian team is going to have the upper hand in the Test series. But, the Kiwi team cannot be taken lightly, because it is not easy to defeat New Zealand on home soil in any format.
Team India has played the final twice
The Indian cricket team has had a great journey so far in the World Test Championship. Team India has reached the finals twice in the history of this tournament. For the first time, India had made it to the finals in the 2019-21 cycle. Under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, the Indian team faced New Zealand, but lost by 8 wickets in the final.
After this, in the 2021-23 cycle also, India made it to the finals for the second consecutive time. This time, under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, Team India faced Australia. However, in this match played at the Oval ground in London, the Indian team lost by 209 runs. In this way, despite reaching the WTC finals twice, India has not been able to win the title yet. Now in the 2025-27 cycle, the Indian team will try to make it to the finals for the third time and win the trophy for the first time.
Also read: At the age of 15, Vaibhav Suryavanshi made a world record of captaincy, became the youngest captain to do so.