India’s reaching the final will depend on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting in November. India lost the Pune Test, then it will not only have to ensure that it wins the last Test against New Zealand but also has to win at least three out of five Test matches against Australia.
India’s chances for WTC final after series defeat at Pune by New Zealand. (PIC – X)
New Delhi: India has faced defeat in the second test against New Zealand. Team India lost by 113 runs in the test match played in Pune. New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner made life difficult for India. He troubled Team India by taking a total of wickets. Santner took 7 wickets in the first innings. While in the second innings, he took 6 wickets. Chasing the target of 359 runs, the Indian team was all out at 245 runs. Only Yashasvi Jaiswal played a good innings for India. As India faces a series of defeat by New Zealand so, here is the scenario of Team India’s qualification scenario for the World Test Championship final.
Currently, there is a tough competition between four teams to reach the finals. India and Australia are currently in the first and second positions respectively. Even after a series win for New Zealand, its chances of reaching the finals will be very low. But apart from India-Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa are also directly in the race for the finals.
Before the series against New Zealand started, India had a good lead in the WTC Championship table. But after losing the Pune Test match, its points percentage has almost been equal to Australia’s. Defeat in the Pune Test has not only ended India’s streak of winning 18 consecutive series on its soil but its hopes of playing its third consecutive Test Championship final may also be dashed.
In such a situation, India’s reaching the final will depend on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting in November. India lost the Pune Test, then it will not only have to ensure that it wins the last Test against New Zealand but also has to win at least three out of five Test matches against Australia. To put it simply, after losing the second Test against New Zealand, India’s path to the final is going to be very difficult. If India loses the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as well, then it will be out of the race for the final.