IND vs SL: Team India will play their first Test series in Sri Lanka since 2017 when the two-Test rubber kickstarts on August 15, Saturday at the Galle International Stadium. Although the tourists boosted their preparation with a convincing win in the three-day warm-up fixture against Sri Lanka Cricket XI at the Nondescripts Club Ground in Colombo and ticked several boxes, it is still an uphill challenge for a young squad. Keeping in mind the World Test Championship (WTC) final chances, here is how their probability effects in case of a series win, draw or loss.
IND vs SL: How will a series win, draw or loss impact India’s World Test Championship final chances?
Should Shubman Gill and co. sweep the series 2-0, their percentage points will surge to 57.58, which is currently standing 48.15 and at fifth spot in the 2025-27 cycle’s WTC standings. Nevertheless, India’s position will stay the same as Bangladesh’s percentage points are 58.33. A draw of 1-1 means the tourists will retain the fifth spot, while their percentage points of 48.48 remains nearly the same, with Sri Lanka’s at 44.44.
A 1-0 series victory would mean that the two-time WTC finalists’ percentage points will be 51.52, with their standing of 5th remaining the same. On the flipside, a 0-1 series defeat means Sri Lanka will leapfrog their sub-continent counterparts to take the fifth spot with percentage points of 50. Meanwhile, losing both matches would put India in a very ugly as their percentage points would drop to 39.39, while Sri Lanka’s will surge to 61.61. It would still keep India in the race to reach the WTC final but they may need to win all seven Tests against Australia and New Zealand along with hoping for other results to go their way. Hence, it leaves the tourists no choice but to emerge triumphant in both Tests to keep in touch with the WTC final spot.
IND vs SL: When did Team India last lose a Test series to Sri Lanka?
Team India will take some comfort in knowing that the Lankans have not beaten them in a Test series since 2008. Led by Virat Kohli on the last two occasions in Sri Lanka, India won in 2015 and 2017 convincingly.
While the visitors are without some big names and struggling with injuries, they still have a very promising group of players, capable of walking off with a series win.