The final of the third cycle of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 will be played at Lord's, the historic cricket ground in London, in June 2025 next year. 27 Test series are to be played in this cycle and only 13 series are to be played by August 21, 2024.
Last time India and Australia were in a strong position in the WTC final but there are still 14 series left so the situation can change. Apart from India and Australia, other teams including Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka can also get a ticket to Lord's. Currently, a test series is being played between England vs. Sri Lanka and Pakistan vs. Bangladesh. The result of which can change the point table and position of the WTC final.
New Zealand and Sri Lanka have the same percentage
The New Zealand team has 50% points with three wins and three losses in six Test matches. To get more than 60 percent points, the Kiwi team will have to work hard to get the results in their favor. They have eight Tests left and they have to get at least 65 points out of 96. A result of five wins and two draws will be beneficial for them. Sri Lanka has played only two series out of six. They still have to play nine Tests. They have to get 70 points out of 108. For this, they have to get five or six wins and three draws. They have to perform well in the three Test matches against England.
South Africa: 38.89 pct
South Africa and Bangladesh are the teams that have played the least number of Tests. Both have to play 12 Tests each. England have to play 22 Tests. The African team has collected 28 points in six Tests and collected 16 points in the series win against West Indies last week. They will have to score 59 points in six Tests to reach 60 percentile. They will have to win five matches. They have to play four Test matches at home against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
India: Point Percentage System (PCT) 68.52
The Indian team is currently at the top and has achieved 68.52% points so far. Rohit Sharma's team is going to tour Australia in November. Before this series, India has to play a total of five Test matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand at home. India qualified for the final in 2023 with 58.8 points. India will have to score 63 out of a maximum of 120 points in 10 Test matches to be above 60%. It is worth noting that 12 points are awarded for a win and four points for a draw. In this scenario, five wins and a draw will give India 64 points and it will be above 60 percent. However, India will also have to pay attention to the overrate as points are also deducted due to slow overrate.
Australia : 62.50 (pct)
Australia is one of the two teams that have played four out of six series in the current WTC cycle. West Indies is the other team. Australia have 62.5% points but their ranking will depend on how they perform in the upcoming series against India. India have beaten Australia in the last four Test series, including twice on home soil. To maintain above 60 percent points, the Australian team needs to score more than 47 points in seven Tests. As per this calculation, an Australian team can qualify for the final with four or three wins and three draws.
Pakistan: 36.66 pct
The Pakistan team has played only two out of six Test series. Pakistan will have home advantage against Bangladesh, England and West Indies. They have to play only against South Africa abroad. To reach 60 percent, Pakistan has to get 79 out of 108 points in their remaining nine Test matches. For this, they need to get six wins and some draws or seven wins.
England: 36.54, Bangladesh: 25.00
If 19 penalty points were not deducted for slow over rate, England's points would have been 48.72. However, to remain above 60 percent, the English team will have to score 102 out of 108 points in nine tests. Winning this test and a draw will give them 100 points. England will have to win all the remaining tests to reach the final. Bangladesh has four series left. One series is to be played at home. 75 out of a possible 96 points will have to be earned in eight test matches. For this, six wins and one draw result will have to be achieved.
Windies scored the lowest score of 18.52 points
The West Indies team has played four Test series so far and has scored only 20 points out of 108. Even if it wins its last four Tests, it will get only 43.59 percent points. Thus, even if it cannot qualify for the WTC final, it can definitely spoil the draw of other big teams by winning.