Cricket News: India can still qualify for World Test Championship final

However, as things stand, India are not in one of the top two spots in the WTC standings, meaning they are unlikely to make it to the final in 2023.

But that doesn’t mean they are out of contention; far from it. That said, they will need to get many results right to be in with a chance of contesting in their second straight final.

As of right now, India are fourth on the standings, having played 12 matches and accumulated 75 points.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">India will qualify for the WTC final if they win 5 Tests from the remaining 6 matches.</p>&mdash; Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) <a href="https://twitter.com/CricCrazyJohns/status/1602230163860692992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That puts them higher on points than second-placed South Africa and the team in third, that is, Sri Lanka.

South Africa currently have 72 points, whereas Sri Lanka have 64 points. But the standings are not determined purely on points; it’s determined by the points percentage (PCT).

And as far as the PCT goes, India are at 52.08. So what does India need to do to rise higher in the PCT points and crack that top two?

For one, it’s essential to look at the number of games remaining for India. They have six Tests left in the current cycle – two against Bangladesh away from home and four against Australia at home.

If they win all of their six Tests remaining, their PCT will rise to 68.06, ensuring their qualification with ease. Australia’s PCT will fall into that scenario since they will have lost four Tests to India.

India can also qualify for the final if they win five of their Tests and lose one since that too will leave them with a healthy PCT of 62.5

If India get to that number, it will ensure their qualification because neither Australia nor South Africa will be able to get past that PCT number.

Where things get tricky, however, is if India lose even two Test matches. If they lose two and win four, their PCT will be 56.94, leaving them in the unenviable position of relying on other results to qualify.

It doesn’t help that there are other teams potentially in contention for the top two and that not even Australia is guaranteed qualification as of now.

South Africa and Sri Lanka still have a chance, so four teams compete for two spots.

The likes of Pakistan, England, West Indies, New Zealand, and Bangladesh are all but out of contention for the top two slots.

So for India, the equation is simple – win five of their six remaining Tests, and their destiny remains in their own hands.

However; they will most likely rely on other results to see them through to the final.