India and Sri Lanka are vying for the second position in the ICC World Test
Championship final, with Australia already qualified.
Australia won the third Test against India in Indore, securing their place in the ICC World
Test Championship championship match. India is 2-1 up in the series and second in the
WTC points standings, but they aren’t assured to advance to the championship game.
Together with India, Sri Lanka is still a contender and is now ranked third.
Next up for the Lankans is a two-match series against New Zealand, which, if won, will
qualify them for the summit match versus the Australians.
After winning the first two games in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India greatly improved their
prospects of qualifying, but a defeat in the match against Indore slightly slowed down their
momentum. Even though the harm wasn’t severe, India must win the test in Ahmedabad to
maintain control of the situation.
How can India enter the World Test Championship championship game?
1. India would automatically qualify for the World Test Championship final with a win against
Australia in the fourth Test. With a PCT of 60.29Sri Lanka (PCT of 53.33%) is well behind
India in the standings. India will be guaranteed a spot in the championship game with a
victory, regardless of how the Sri Lanka-New Zealand Test series turns out.
2. If Sri Lanka defeats New Zealand 2-0, they can unseat India if the fourth Test is simply a
draw. The islanders would continue to be third in the WTC points standings if they failed to
complete a clean sweep.
3. India might be disqualified from the WTC championship race if Ahmedabad’s test results
mirror those of the Indore test. But, Sri Lanka would need to triumph in both of their games
against New Zealand for such a situation to occur.
Overall, Sri Lanka would be eliminated from consideration for the World Test Championship
championship match if the score was anything less than 2-0.
