Here's how can India qualify for the finals of 2023 World Test Championship; have a look at latest standings

Following India’s yet another statement-making win over Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series, they have inched closer to sealing the direct qualification for the finals of the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC). As announced by the ICC earlier, the finals of the second edition of WTC will be played on a neutral venue - at the Oval in London this time from June 7th to 11th with 12th been kept as a reserve day. While both Australia and India were already among the favourites to play the summit clash, the result of this series, and the ones that are scheduled to happen elsewhere could determine the final two.

So, after winning the first two Tests convincingly, how can India still qualify for the finals of 2023 WTC. A win in the second Test in Delhi by six wickets led to jump in India’s point percentage from 61.66 to 64.06, whereas, Australia’s lead on the latest standings suffered a dent as their PCT has now lowered down to 66.67from 70.83.

This slip in their PCT means Australia cannot take things lightly and will have to fight out hard to avoid, a) a series whitewash against India, and b) hope for New Zealand to not lose their home two-match Test series against Sri Lanka – a combination of which could see them getting out of the top two in latest standings for the 2023 WTC.

However, for India to qualify for the finals of the World Test Championship, they just have to win one of the remaining two Tests. In one case if India wins the series 3-0 or 4-0, they will not only qualify for the finals, but will also top the standings. On the other hand, if India win the series 3-1, their PCT would be 61.92 which would be sufficient enough for them to face possibly Australia in the finals.

Meanwhile, in the worst-case scenario for the Rohit Sharma-led team, if Australia manages to win the remaining two Tests and the series is tied at 2-2, India can still qualify for the finals provided Sri Lanka drop points against New Zealand in their final Test series in this WTC cycle.