New Zealand, who scripted a historic Test series win over India, have been flattened by England. The Ben Stokes-led side have dominated the proceedings in Wellington and have gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-game Test series against the Kiwis. With this, they have made the World Test Championship (WTC) points table 2023-25 interesting.
England have already been eliminated from the race to the WTC Final. However, they can spoil New Zealand’s party. Their massive 323-run win on Sunday was built on magnificent hundreds by Harry Brook and Joe Root. Gus Atkinson took a hat-trick in the first innings as well.
ENG impact on NZ’s WTC Final qualification
England have severely impacted New Zealand’s case now. New Zealand had a 50.00 point percentage prior to this match. Now, they are at 44.23. Incredibly, if England also win the remaining match, New Zealand remain sixth on the WTC points table. England, meanwhile, are already out even if they whitewash the Kiwis. At the same time, New Zealand are also out of WTC final race. However, it is a good news for India. Team India are already battling for a WTC final spot against Australia and South Africa. Now, they would be happy that New Zealand’s chances have taken a hit.
| Rank | Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Penalties | Points | % Points |
| 1 | India | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | -2 | 110 | 61.11 |
| 2 | South Africa | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 64 | 59.26 |
| 3 | Australia | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | -10 | 90 | 57.69 |
| 4 | Sri Lanka | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 60 | 50 |
| 5 | England | 21 | 11 | 1 | 9 | -22 | 114 | 45.24 |
| 6 | New Zealand | 13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | -3 | 69 | 44.23 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | -8 | 40 | 33.33 |
| 8 | Bangladesh | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | -3 | 45 | 31.25 |
| 9 | West Indies | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 32 | 24.24 |
WTC Final Scenarios for India
Team India is currently on the verge of a loss from IND vs AUS 2nd Test in Adelaide. If they lose;
- Australia would climb to the top of the table with a 60.71% win percentage
- South Africa would remain in second place at 59.26%
- India would drop to third place with 57.29%
Qualification Challenges
To reach the WTC Final, India would now face a steep challenge:
- Must win all remaining 3 matches; if not, at least 2
- Ideally, it needs to win the series 4-0 or 5-0; that cannot be the case now
- A 4-1 or 3-0 series result would not guarantee qualification
- Hope South Africa win all their remaining games
India’s remaining matches
- India vs Australia – December 14-18, Brisbane
- India vs Australia – December 26-30, Melbourne
- India vs Australia – January 03 – 07, Sydney
Australia remaining matches
- India vs Australia – December 14-18, Brisbane
- India vs Australia – December 26-30, Melbourne
- India vs Australia – January 03 – 07, Sydney
South Africa remaining matches
- South Africa vs Pakistan – December 26-30, Centurion
- South Africa vs Pakistan – January 03-07, Cape Town
New Zealand’s remaining matches
- New Zealand vs England – December 14-18, Hamilton
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