AUS v IND: How Can India Still Qualify For The WTC 2025 Final?
India’s chances of qualifying for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final suffered a huge setback after being defeated by 184 runs against Australia in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. With Australia now holding an unassailable 2-1 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), India’s chances of qualifying for the WTC 2025 final now depend on a series of scenarios. India is yet not completely out of the race at all and their hopes of qualification still rest on how they perform in the remaining matches and some unlikely results in other series. India’s Short-Term Task For WTC 2025 Qualification First, India needs to secure the fifth and final test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. The match is slated to start on January 3, 2025, at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Winning in Sydney will bring the series to a 2-2 level and thereby keep alive their hopes for qualifying for the WTC 2025 final. The qualification path, however, lies beyond their control. India’s fate will also be determined by how Sri Lanka does in their two-match test series against Australia, which begins on January 29, 2025, in Galle. Will Sri Lanka A Role In India’s WTC 2025 Qualification? India will qualify for the WTC 2025 final only if they beat Australia in Sydney and then pray for Sri Lanka to whitewash Australia in their series. If Sri Lanka wins 2-0 over Australia, India can conclude the WTC 2025 cycle with a percentage of 55.26% and thereby surpass Australia’s projected 51.75% and Sri Lanka’s expected 53.85%. This will ensure India qualify for the final, scheduled to be held at Lord’s. However, if India loses or draws the Sydney test, their chances of qualifying for the WTC 2025 final will be effectively over, irrespective of the result in the Sri Lanka-Australia series. What Present WTC 2025 Standings Mean For India? Presently, India is at the third position in the WTC 2025 standings with a percentage of 52.78%. Since it qualified into the final after winning a contest against Pakistan, Australia finds a share percentage of 51.75%, while Sri Lanka placed fourth with a share of 53.85%. If India loses in Sydney, Sri Lanka’s 2-0 win over Australia would not help India into the final, since that would not enhance India’s percentage enough to get it above both Australia and Sri Lanka. What India Probably Could Do At Sydney? For India, the way to the WTC 2025 final is well-laid but not easy. They need to start by performing well in Sydney, where they can’t afford to drop any more matches. Top-order issues have been an issue for the team in the Boxing Day Test and the big names such as Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli have not performed upto the mark, so they’ll be looking to do the job in the final test at Sydney. Some other players who had shown lot of grit and resilience in that last game would play a major role if India have to win over Sydney. Can India Make It To The WTC 2025 Final? India can still reach the WTC 2025 final, however, that will only happen if they win in Sydney and Sri Lanka beats Australia 2-0. Their fate will be determined by how both teams perform in the next few weeks. For now, India needs to focus on winning the fifth and the final test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Sydney and hoping that other results will fall in their favor, keeping their dreams of qualifying for the WTC 2025 final alive. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
Who Can And Cannot Qualify For The WTC 2025 Final?
The race for the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) Final is heating up at Lord’s, with just a few critical series left to be played. The Road To WTC 2025 Final With the WTC 2025 cycle in its final stages, everyone is keenly watching for the remaining series. Let us break down who can still qualify and who has fallen off the boat. 1. South Africa South Africa are currently leading the WTC standings with a healthy 63.33% of possible points. Their whitewash of Sri Lanka and series win over Bangladesh have put them in a very commanding position. The Proteas have two important home Tests remaining against Pakistan and if they continue their winning form, they will be well-placed to secure their spot in the final. Their best possible finish stands at 69.44%, which should be enough to see them through to Lord’s, assuming they maintain their momentum. 2. Australia The defending WTC champions, Australia, are in second place with 58.89% of the possible points. Their recent performances, including a dominant pink-ball win over India in Adelaide, have kept them in the race. With two important home Tests against India and two away matches against Sri Lanka remaining, Australia could theoretically draw 2-2 with India and still stay in contention. Their best possible finish is 67.54% and they will need to win at least one of the upcoming Tests against India to keep their hopes alive. 3. India India, with 55.88% of possible points, are in a precarious position. Although they had a brilliant win over Australia in Perth, India’s hopes of qualification were doused when they lost to Australia in the second Test. They have two Tests left in their current series against Australia and they need to win both to have any chance of qualifying for the final. Even then, they will depend on other series results to go their way. India’s best possible finish is 60.53% and anything less than a 2-0 win over Australia will leave their fate in the hands of other teams. 4. Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, with 45.45% of possible points, are still technically in contention, but their path to the final is extremely challenging. After a 2-0 whitewash by South Africa, their hopes took a severe beating. With two more crucial home Tests against Australia in January, Sri Lanka need to win both of those and hope for a series of favorable results elsewhere. Its best possible finish is at 53.85%. They’ll need a near perfect run and a lot of luck to make it to the final. 5. England England, who were once in contention, have now fallen out of the race following a series of disappointing results, including their losses to Pakistan. Although they clinched a 2-1 series victory over New Zealand, their hopes were dashed by a heavy loss in the final Test. With just 43.18% of possible points, England cannot qualify for the WTC 2025 final. 6. New Zealand New Zealand’s hope of making to their second WTC final got crushed after a miserable series against England. Having earlier in the cycle achieved a great win over India, recent defeats have sealed off all chances for them. At their best, with a finish of 48.21%, they stand to have no chance of entry into the final as many teams have already surpassed them on the points table. 7. Pakistan Pakistan with 33.33% possible points mathematically can stay in the race for a qualification. Their probability to qualify will be tough though, given their best outcome in terms of percentages would merely reach 52.38%, which hardly has much scope to end up with any of the top-two rankings. However, they can play four tests with two on their tour against South Africa and two more on an incoming tour of the West Indies, but unless a series of unbelievable events, qualification won’t happen their way. 8. Bangladesh Bangladesh is at the bottom of the table, scoring only 31.25% of the available points and their tournament is already over. The win against West Indies at the end of the round helped them to marginally recover from earlier defeats. Bangladesh cannot qualify for the WTC 2025 final. 9. West Indies West Indies is also mathematically out of contention. They are currently sitting at ninth place with only 24.24% of possible points. The West Indies have shown moments of brilliance but inconsistency has cost them so dearly. Their two remaining Tests against Pakistan can bring some consolation, but the hopes of qualification for the West Indies are already over. With just a handful of matches left, the race for the WTC 2025 Final is far from decided, however it’s clear that South Africa, Australia and India are the teams to watch in these final few months of competition. Which two teams do you think will make it to the ICC WTC 2025 Final? The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
Ravichandran Ashwin Creates World Record By Spinning A Web
India’s Ravichandran Ashwin on Monday became the first bowler to bag at least 50 wickets in each of the three World Test Championship (WTC) cycles played so far. The incredible feat came with the dismissal of Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan for nine runs, which took him to 182 WTC wickets overall, six short of Nathan Lyon’s record of 187-the most in WTC history. Let’s take a glance at Ashwin’s amazing WTC record so far: RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN’S RECORD IN THE WTC CYCLE MATCHES WICKETS BEST FIGURES 2019-2021 14 71 7-145 2021-2023 13 61 6-91 2023-2025* 10* 50* 7-71 TOTAL 37* 182* 7-71 (*Running) Ashwin Closes in on All-Time WTC Records Ashwin has now become the second-highest wicket-taker in WTC history, with 182 wickets after a little over 37 matches. Nathan Lyon of Australia still remains on the top rung with 187 dismissals, but Ashwin still needs a few more wickets to surpass that figure. And if Ashwin takes two more wickets in the current match, then he will become the first cricketer to cross Josh Hazlewood’s record for most wickets in the ongoing WTC cycle (2023-25), where Hazlewood tops the list with 51 wickets in 11 matches. MOST WICKETS IN WTC HISTORY PLAYER COUNTRY WICKETS Nathan Lyon Australia 187* Ravichandran Ashwin India 182* Pat Cummins Australia 175* Mitchell Starc Australia 147* Stuart Broad England 134 (*Running) WTC 2023-25: Battle for Most Wickets Taken Ashwin enters the race with 50 wickets in 10 games as he reaches the second spot. He is a wicket away from moving past Australia’s Josh Hazlewood in the WTC cycle, and he is set to finish the series short of doing so. MOST WICKETS IN WTC 2023-2025 CYCLE PLAYER COUNTRY WICKETS Josh Hazlewood Australia 51* Ravichandran Ashwin India 50* Pat Cummins Australia 48* Mitchell Starc Australia 48* Chris Woakes England 43* (*Running) IND vs BAN: Ashwin Levels Zaheer Khan’s Record Second wicket in Bangladesh’s first innings also took him to level with Zaheer Khan for India-Bangladesh Test wickets. Each now stands with 31 wickets taken across this Test rivalry. MOST WICKETS IN IND vs BAN TEST SERIES PLAYER COUNTRY WICKETS Ravichandran Ashwin India 31* Zaheer Khan India 31 Ishant Sharma India 25* Umesh Yadav India 22* Shakib Al Hasan Bangladesh 21 (*Running) Ashwin In Pursuit of Test Cricket Milestones Ashwin, who had taken 6/88 in the first test of this series, is inching closer to yet another coveted milestone. He needs three more wickets to complete his 38th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Should he do it here, he would also surpass Shane Warne’s record so far who had 37 five-wicket hauls in his career. Ashwin’s record string of performances and the fact that he had always delivered on the biggest stages made him one of the most decorated spinners in the world, but with history books continually being rewritten, the question remained how much further he would be able to take such remarkable records. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
