The India vs Afghanistan Test match started on June 6th in New Chandigarh. At MYS International Stadium but here’s the thing honestly. This match won’t count for the World Test Championship cycle.
Afghanistan is not part of it. Only nine teams participated in WTC. Afghanistan didn’t make that list apparently. The nine participating teams are fixed.
India, England, Pakistan, West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are included. That’s the complete list basically. No Afghanistan unfortunately in this group. So any Test Afghanistan plays doesn’t contribute to WTC points.
Doesn’t affect rankings at all. Doesn’t matter for the win percentage. The match is basically standalone. Important for India but not for World Test Championship purposes. That’s how the rules work.
India won the toss there and elected to bat first obviously. Built a really strong position. The first innings was impressive honestly. Crossed 500 runs easily, that shows India’s batting strength.
But again, no WTC points. Just preparation for the upcoming matches. Building confidence is important though, against any international opposition basically.
India’s Dominant Performance
India’s batting was absolutely brilliant. KL Rahul scored a century. Shubman Gill also got a ton. Another hundred from the captain. Two centuries in one innings. That’s quality batting honestly. Sai Sudharsan and Rishabh Pant got fifties.
Five players scored significant runs. India’s top order is firing well. Absolutely dominant performance basically. This kind of form matters. Building confidence before WTC matches.
The next matches are WTC fixtures. Against Sri Lanka coming up, then New Zealand after that. So this performance helps India. Mentally and technically both aspects. Proving their batting depth.
Multiple batsmen getting runs. The captain is leading from the front. The opening pair is performing well. The middle order is contributing heavily. Strong team showing signs.
What This Means Matches for WTC
India sits 6th currently in WTC with 4 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw from 9 Tests. Win percentage at 48.15, not a great position actually. Need to improve going forward. Sri Lanka and New Zealand both have important WTC matches.
The Afghanistan Test is just preparation. Building momentum before the WTC games, but results matter more than the Afghanistan match obviously. India needs WTC victories badly. 6th position is not ideal. They want a top two finish.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy coming in January with 5 Test series vs Australia. A big bilateral series is still important for India.
Multiple matches across formats. WTC fixtures are a priority though. The Afghanistan match was a practice. The real battle starts now basically. India needs to improve their WTC standing clearly. More wins are needed urgently.
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