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WTC Final: With 12 series and 30 Tests remaining in the current World Test Championship cycle, the battle for the top two spots is heating up. From the last cycle, we saw Australia and India with percentage scores of 66.67% and 58.8%, respectively. To have a strong chance of making it to the final at Lord’s, teams will need to aim for a score of around 60%.
Here’s a look at the current standings and each team’s chances of qualifying for WTC Final:
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Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka is still in contention for a top-two finish, with The Oval win. If Sri Lanka manages to win all their remaining six games, the team is expected to finish with 69.23, which will almost take them to the WTC final match. If they manage to win five out of six games, it will take them to 61.54, which will still keep them in contention. Interestingly, four of their remaining six Tests are at home, against New Zealand and Australia.
Current Percentage: 42.86
Remaining series: New Zealand (two home Tests), South Africa (two away), Australia (two home)
England:
England’s unexpected defeat at The Oval against Sri Lanka means that they can no longer break the 60% mark in the ongoing WTC cycle. The maximum the team can achieve right now, with wins in their six remaining Tests is 57.95. But this still should be enough if other results go in their favor.
If the Indian cricket team takes the lead, England can finish second, and if Australia scores 42 or fewer points, other teams stay below 57.95. But if Australia manages to top the table, then England would need India to score no more than 58 points and stay below 57.95; dropping points further requires more help from other teams.
Current Percentage: 42.19
Remaining series: Pakistan (three away Tests), NZ (three away)
India:
The Indian cricket team continues to rule at the top of the table with a healthy percentage of 68.52, but the team still has 10 games to play. The Men in Blue need 63 more points, to keep their percentage above 60, which they can easily achieve with five wins and a draw off their remaining 10 games. Six wins off the remaining 10 games will take the team’s percentage to 64.03, however, to match their current score, the Indian team needs to win seven games, which will take their percentage to 69.3.
Current Percentage: 69.52
Remaining series: Bangladesh (two home Tests), NZ (three home), Australia (five away)
Australia:
Australia is currently sitting in second place at the points table and needs 47 more points from their remaining seven games. To take the team’s percentage above 60%, Australia needs to win either four games or three wins and three draws. Notably, Australia’s final standing will depend on how many points they can rack up in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Test series against the Indian cricket team.
Current Percentage: 62.50
Remaining Series: India (five home Tests), SL (two away)
Bangladesh:
Bangladesh is currently sitting in fourth position in the WTC points table and their stunning 2-0 series win against the Pakistan cricket team has taken their percentage up to 45. If the Bangladesh cricket team manages to win each of their six remaining games, they can go up to 72.92, while four wins out of six will keep the team at 56.25.
Current Percentage: 45.83
Remaining series: India (two away Tests), West Indies (two away), South Africa (two home)
Pakistan:
The Pakistan cricket suffered a major setback after losing 2-0 to Bangladesh. Not just this, the team also dropped six points because of slow over-rates. Pakistan’s percentage dropped from 36.66 at the start of the series to 19.05. If the team manages to win each of their seven remaining games, the maximum they can achieve is 59.52.
Current Percentage: 19.05
Remaining series: England (three home Tests), SA (two away), WI (two home)
New Zealand:
In the ongoing WTC cycle, New Zealand has played only six out of their 14 Tests. Five of their eight remaining Tests will be in Asia. Out of the 96 points available, the New Zealand cricket team needs at least 65 to finish with 60%. This means the Kiwis need either five wins and a couple of draws or six wins, but it is not that easy, considering that three of the remaining games will take place in India.
Current Percentage: 50.00
Remaining series: SL (two away Tests), India (three away), England (three home)
South Africa
If Proteas wins each of their remaining six Tests, they can finish on 69.44, which will almost take them to the WTC final. They have a home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan later this year. Besides this, they also have a two-match Test series in Bangladesh, which could be a tricky one.
Current Percentage: 38.89
Remaining series: SL (two home Tests), Pakistan (two home), Bangladesh (two away)
West Indies
West Indies have already played four series in the ongoing WTC cycle but they have only scored 20 points out of 108. Even if they manage to win their last four Tests, the team can only finish on 43.59%.
Current Percentage: 18.52
Remaining series: Bangladesh (two home Tests), Pakistan (two away)
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