It’s done for India in the ongoing WTC cycle, as their campaign has ended on a poor note. They are officially out of the WTC final race, and it is Australia and South Africa who will meet in the WTC final in 2025. India, who lost the Sydney Test by 6 wickets and series by 3-1, now have no games left and no opportunity to change the WTC outcomes.
However, there’s no question about how they dominated Test cycle over the last two years, staying at the top for most of the time.
India played 19 Tests in the 2023-25 cycle, winning 9, losing 8, and drawing 2. Interestingly, their 6 losses came in the last two series, first, against New Zealand, which was the biggest setback as they lost 3-0 at home, and now, after losing the Sydney Test in Australia, they lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 after holding it for almost a decade. Take a look at India’s WTC 2023-25 cycle stats and check how they performed in whites overall.
| Match | Result |
| India vs West Indies | 1-0 (2 Test Matches) |
| India vs South Africa | 1-1 ( 2 Test Matches) |
| India vs England | 4-1 Win (5 Test Matches) |
| India vs Bangladesh | 2-0 Win (2 Test Matches) |
| India vs New Zealand | 0-3 Loss (3 Test Matches) |
| India vs Australia (BGT 2024) | 1-3 Loss ( 5 Test Matches) |
As mentioned earlier, things didn’t end well for India, but they certainly started on a high note with a strong performance against the West Indies, winning 1-0 in a 2-Test series. Then, in December 2023, India faced their first loss under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, although they bounced back by defeating South Africa in the second game.
Their highest point came with a 4-1 win over England, where they dominated the 5-Test series. After clinching the T20 World Cup in 2024, India continued their dominance in whites as well by sweeping Bangladesh.
However, things started to change after that series. India were just three more games away from qualifying for the WTC final, but a loss to New Zealand put them on the back foot and since then spotlight shifted to India’s batting collapses, and even in recently done BGT series, especially after the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where India thumped Australia by 295 runs.
But after that, they faced three major defeats, which not only led to their downfall in the BGT series but also in the WTC standings. India’s next WTC cycle will begin in June, and it will be interesting to see how they regroup during this transition phase and form the team for the upcoming run.
