Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts
 

ICC World Test Championship 2021-2023: Here's how Team India qualifed for the WTC Final

Indian cricket team won the two-match Test series against Bangladesh by a margin of 2-0 and jumped to the second spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2022-23 points table.

team india vs australia

Team India have qualified for the ICC World Test Championship Final despite the must-win fourth and final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 in Ahmedabad ending in a draw on Monday (March 13).

The Rohit Sharma-led side thus won the four-match series 2-1 and secured their fourth straight Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

After losing the third Test at Holkar Stadium due to a dismal batting effort on a rank turner, the hosts found themselves in a precarious situation in the series for they had to finish it with a margin of 3-0 or better to qualify for the WTC 2023 Final on their own.

With the third Test heading towards a draw on a sluggish surface, India's fate rested in the hands of Sri Lanka - who play a two-Test series against New Zealand in the latter's backyard. Sri Lankans - who were ranked third in WTC points table - needed to win both the Tests against the Blackcaps to book the ticket to the final. But their loss in the first Test ended their hopes.

Result of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023

1st Test: India won by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur

2nd Test: India won by 6 wickets in Delhi

3rd Test: Australia won by 9 wickets in Indore

4th Test: Match in Ahmedabad ended in a draw

Australia qualify for WTC Final

With the win in Indore Test, the Baggy Greens have confirmed their berth in the WTC Final and they will now await their opponents. They will also try to give the Indians a run for their money in the fourth Test to level the series 2-2 and deny the latter a chance to qualify for the WTC Final.

How India lost 3rd Test against Australia

Stand-in captain Steve Smith marshalled his troops brilliantly in the third Test as Indians were folded for 109 in the first innings. The visitors responded brilliantly with the bat and took a significant 87-run lead despite getting restricted to 197 in their first innings following a batting collapse.

Tasked with the responsibility of taking a decent lead, the Indian batters were subdued by Nathan Lyon's spin. Lyon returned with 8 for 64 and the entire Indian innings folded for 163 and only had a paltry 75-run-led, which the tourists overhauled in 18.5 overs after losing Khawaja in the first over.

India take 2-0 lead in BGT 2023

The hosts won the second match of the four-Test series on Sunday (February 19) to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy following an emphatic win over visitors at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. They took an unassailable 2-0 lead.

In the second Test, India chased down a paltry target of 115 runs in the final innings of the match for the loss of four wickets. Cheteshwar Pujara - playing his 100th Test - hit the winning runs as the hosts wrapped up the second game inside three days to retain the trophy, which they had been winning for the last four editions.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja picked up a seven-for in the second innings and bundled the Australians out for 113. R Ashwin had picked up a fifer in the first innings as the visitors scored 263 runs in the first innings after electing to bat first. The Pat Cummins-led side bundled Rohit Sharma and his band for 262 in the first innings to take a one-run lead, thanks to a superb five-wicket haul from Nathan Lyon. But the batters disappointed big time in the third innings and the match tilted in the home team's favour.

India in Bangladesh Test series

Earlier last year, with the series win in Bangladesh, Indians kept themselves in the hunt for WTC Final qualification. India won that series 2-0.

Under the leadership of stand-in captain KL Rahul, India registered an emphatic 188-run win over Bangladesh in the opening Test in Chattogram. The visitors had several heroes in the game that was wrapped up early on day five of the match.

In the second Test, the hosts did put up a fight but the experience of R Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer helped the Indians to surpass the challenge and India whitewashed the series 2-nil and also bagged crucial WTC points.

Australia vs SA 3rd Test ends in a draw

The third and final Test between the two teams, which was played at Sydney Cricket Ground, ended in a draw. After getting folded for a paltry 255 in response to Australia's 475/4 (declared) in the first innings, the Proteas held guard in their second innings after being asked to follow on. South Africa scored 106/2 at the close of play on the final day of the Test match but they lost the series 2-0.

Australia win series against South Africa at MCG

Australia defeated South Africa by an innings and 182 runs in the second Test match held at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The emphatic win on the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test has given the Pat Cummins-led side an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and ensured them of a place in the WTC Final. They have all but confirmed their entry in the final but a win in the third, but they would be looking to enter the final on a dominant note with a 3-nil win in the ongoing series.

India Take 2-0 Lead over Bangladesh

Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin's unbeaten 71-run partnership prevented India from blanking them and won the match by a slender 3-wicket margin and claimed the series 2-0. Chasing a target of 145, India lost seven wickets in the process as Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran through their top order with a fifer. However, Ashwin and Iyer revived the team from a precarious situation and took their team home and gave them crucial WTC points.

Cheteshwar Pujara (90, 102*), Shubman Gill (20, 110) and Kuldeep Yadav (5/40 & 3/73) starred for the visitors in the emphatic win. India were playing a Test match after a gap of five months and did well in all the departments to secure a comfortable victory.

England created history in Pakistan

England defeated Pakistan by 26 runs in the second Test in Multan and with that win, they claimed the Test series 2-0 in the latter's backyard on Monday (December 12). This was Pakistan's third consecutive Test loss. It was the first instance since 1959 when Pakistan lost three consecutive Tests at home.

With this Test series defeat, Pakistan's chances of qualifying for the ICC World Test Championships 2022-23 Final have been thwarted.

Pakistan WTC Final chances

Pakistan have played 11 Tests in this WTC cycle. The Babar Azam-led side has won just four Tests but lost five, and two matches have ended in a draw. They have 56 points and are ranked sixth in the team standings.

India stayed in WTC Final race

South Africa's Test series defeat against England by a 2-1 margin, in September, bolstered the Indian Cricket Team's chances of qualifying for the WTC Final. The Dean Elgar-led side's WTC points percentage (PCT) dropped from 75 to 60 with two back-to-back defeats in England.

Earlier in July, Team India lost to England by 7 wickets in the rescheduled fifth Test in Edgbaston. Adding insult to injury, they were also docked two WTC points for a slow over-rate in England.

Let us take a look at how Team India managed to qualify for the WTC Final in the 2021-23 Cycle.

Team India WTC Rankings

Team India WTC Rankings

Team India jumped to the second spot in the ICC Test Championships 2021-23 Points Table after clean sweeping the Test against Bangladesh.

They didn't just stop at that and ended up registering clinical wins over Australia in the first two Tests. But a loss in the third Test dented their hopes and the fourth Test ended in a draw on a pitch which hardly had anything to offer to the bowlers.

With 10 wins, 5 losses and 3 draws, India finished with 58.8 percentage points at the end of their WTC 2021-23 Cycle. With this, coach Rahul Dravid's side finished second after Australia to qualify for the WTC Final.

Top 3 teams in WTC Standings

Top 3 teams in WTC Standings

Australia:

Number one ranked side in the ICC Test Rankings, Australia are seated at the top in the WTC team standings with 66.67 percentage points. The Pat Cummins-led side has 152 points with 11 wins, 5 draws and 3 defeats in 6 Test series.

With an emphatic 9-wicket victory over India in Indore Test, they booked their spot in the WTC final.

India:

India finished second in the team standings in WTC. They needed to win the four-Test series with a win of 3-0 or higher to qualify for the finals but managed to win it 2-1.

South Africa:

The Proteas arrived on the Australian shores in second place in the WTC standings but expectations got the better of them and consecutive losses in the Aussieland, pushed them to fourth in the points table.

South Africa - who defeated India in the three-Test series 2-1 early last year - were looking favourites for the WTC final. But the series defeat in England and later Australia dented their chance. They are, however, likely to finish the WTC 2021-23 league stage with percentage points (55.56 currently) better than Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka:

The Lankan Lions were from South Africa's consecutive defeats against Australia in the first two games. They ranked third in the standings in the WTC table to keep themselves in the race for the finals. But the narrow two-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the opening Test, dashed their hopes as they slipped to fourth with 48.48 percentage points.

Sri Lanka won 5, lost 5, and drawn 1 Test in the 6 series they've played.

Team India WTC Schedule in 2023

Team India WTC Schedule in 2023

Following are the remaining Test matches of the Indian Cricket Team in the year 2023.

Feb 2023: India Vs Australia 1st Test Feb 09 - Feb 13 - Nagpur - India won by an innings and 132 runs

Feb 2023: India Vs Australia 2nd Test - Feb 17 - Feb 21 - New Delhi - India won by 6 wickets

March 2023: India Vs Australia 3rd Test - March 1 - March 5 - Indore - Australia won by 9 wickets

March 2023: India Vs Australia 4th Test - March 09 - March 13 - Ahmedabad - Match Draw

How India entered WTC Final

How India entered WTC Final

- Defeated Bangladesh by 2-0

Coach Rahul Dravid's team has ended the year 2022 on a positive note with a 2-0 win in Bangladesh and will be looking to take the confidence to the Australia series at home.

For Team India to qualify for the World Test Championships 2021-23 Final, they will have to win the series against Australia.

Pakistan's loss at the hands of England at their home has bolstered India's chances of qualification for the WTC final.

Only Australia are higher in the rankings than India. The runners-up of the WTC 2019-21, are hosting Australia for 4 Tests and went 2-0 up.

Defeated Australia 2-1 in BGT 2023

Team India needed to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by 3-1, 3-0 against Australia. But they could only win the four-Test series by 2-1.

Wins in the first two games boosted their morale and provided them with the momentum to win the series by a big margin and set up the summit clash with the Aussies on June 7. But a defeat in Indore and the draw in Ahmedabad posed a major threat to their qualification.

However, Sri Lanka losing the first Test against defending champions New Zealand - who are already out of the final contention - by a slender 2-wicket margin, proved to be a major shot in the arm for the Indians as they finished second in the race.

Remaining WTC Fixtures for 2022-23

Remaining WTC Fixtures for 2022-23

IND vs AUS

Mar 1-5, 2023: India vs Australia 3rd Test in Dharamsala

Mar 9-13, 2023 India vs Australia 4th Test in Ahmedabad

West Indies tour of South Africa for 2 Tests

1st Test: SA vs WI at Centurion - February 28 to March 4

2nd Test: SA vs WI at Johannesburg - March 8-12

Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand for 2 Tests

1st Test: NZ vs SL at Christchurch - March 9-13

2nd Test: NZ vs SL at Wellington - March 17-21

So, all eyes will be on India-Australia 2023 Test series & NZ vs SL Test series (March 9-13 & March 17-21, 2023).

Only Australia, India and South Africa are in contention for the WTC Final.

India qualified for WTC Final despite losing 4th Test

India qualified for WTC Final despite losing 4th Test

Team India fails to beat Australia in the must-win fourth Test - held at the Narendra Modi Stadium - and won the 4-Test series 2-1.

But they still qualified for the World Test Championships.

Their fates were in Sri Lankan cricket team's hands. Sri Lanka had to win the two-Test series in New Zealand by a 2-0 margin. Had they won the series in New Zealand, their percentage points will have increased to 61.11 with 88 points from a maximum of 144 points at stake.

How an India vs Pakistan in WTC Final hopes ended

How an India vs Pakistan in WTC Final hopes ended

Pakistan were a rung above India in the WTC standings with 64 percentage points before the series against England. The Babar Azam-led side had 44 points from the three bilateral Test series they played. The series against New Zealand ended in a draw.

They had won 3 Tests, lost 2 and drawn 2. But two consecutive series defeats have all but ended their possibility of the WTC Final.

They have 64 points in 14 games (4 wins, 6 losses, 4 draws) while Sri Lanka - who are placed third currently in 10 Tests - have equal points (64) to Pakistan. Sri Lanka (53.33), however, have better percentage points than Pakistan (38.1).

Story first published: Thursday, October 20, 2022, 16:02 [IST]
Other articles published on Oct 20, 2022