IND vs BAN Test Series: KL Rahul-led India make LAST-DITCH attempt at WTC Finals, Check how can India qualify for Finals?

IND vs BAN Test Series: No Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul-led India make LAST-DITCH attempt to resurrect WTC Finals Hopes, Check how can India qualify for Finals?

Sreehari Menon

Sunday, Dec 11, 2022 11:46 pm

IND vs BAN Test Series – IND BAN 1ST TEST: The World Test Championship Final is six months away and India are still some way off confirming their place. Last edition’s beaten finalists are currently third with six games to set up a summit clash at the Oval starting on June 4. The Bangladesh series […]

IND vs BAN Test Series – IND BAN 1ST TEST: The World Test Championship Final is six months away and India are still some way off confirming their place. Last edition’s beaten finalists are currently third with six games to set up a summit clash at the Oval starting on June 4. The Bangladesh series thus becomes crucial, with a Rohit Sharma-less India needing to win at all costs. Follow India vs Bangladesh and WTC 2021-23 LIVE Updates on Insidesport.IN

India in World Test Championship 2021-23

India have six Tests left in their current cycle and are fourth in the standings.
To reach the WTC Final in June, India need to win all six.
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul leads the side against Bangladesh.
Australia, South Africa and SriLanka remain in contention.

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IND vs BAN Test Series: No Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul-led India make LAST-DITCH attempt to resurrect WTC Finals Hopes, Check how can India qualify for Finals?

An Injury-struck India will hope to keep their chances of making the World test championship finals alive in Bangladesh. The Indian team led by KL Rahul, will need to blank the hosts 2-0 to put themselves in command in the points table. Currently, India are fourth in the WTC standings with a PCT of 52.08, behind SriLanka. Australia and SouthAfrica are someway ahead at 72.72 and 60.

World Test Championship Standings

Pos.	Team	Matches	Won	Lost	Drawn	Points	PCT
1	Australia	11	7	1	3	96	72.72
2	South Africa	10	6	4	0	72	60
3	Sri Lanka	10	5	4	1	64	53.33
4	India	12	6	4	2	75	52.08
5	Pakistan	10	4	4	2	56	46.66
6	West Indies	10	4	4	2	54	45
7	England	20	8	8	4	88	41.66
8	New Zealand	9	2	6	1	28	25.93
9	Bangladesh	10	1	8	1	16	13.33

The Bangladesh tour marks India’s return to Test cricket after July. Bangladesh are rock bottom on the points table and the subcontinent conditions should aid KL Rahul and Co. With a series against Australia to follow, even a solitary defeat in any of the six games could hamper their chances. So in Rohit Sharma’s absence, India cannot afford any more slip-ups with at least five wins and draw mandatory for them to leapfrog Srilanka and South Africa.

IND vs BAN Test Series: No Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul-led India make LAST-DITCH attempt to resurrect WTC Finals Hopes, Check how can India qualify for Finals?

However, what plays in India’s favour is the remaining calendar in the cycle. While Australia look certain to qualify, they have eight tests remaining. Those include three against SouthAfrica and four against India away from home. Pat Cummins and Co need to avoid defeat in five of their remaining eight games, to make the WTC Final. Four wins are absolutely mandatory for them.

A lot is riding on the Australia vs South Africa series next year. The table and scenarios could swing wildly with each Test. For their part, the Proteas need at least three wins in their remaining five games to keep India on their toes. SriLanka while ahead of India, have only Tests reaming. The maximum PCT they could haul is 61.9, which is gettable for both India and South Africa.

India Test Squad: KL Rahul (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat