WTC Finals Race: England dent Pakistan's chances of making it to WTC finals, check how PAK vs ENG, AUS vs WI & IND vs BAN shape two WTC finalists, Follow Live

WTC Finals Race: WTC Standings: The last leg for the World Test Championship 2021-23 finals has begun. England have made a huge dent in Pakistan qualifying for the WTC by beating them in the second Test by 26 runs. The hosts, who were languishing at fifth place in the WTC points table needed to win the Test series against England. Instead, England won the two Tests, and have all but ended the Babar Azam & Co team’s chances of making it to the WTC final. Four series will decide the two finalists for WTC Finals 2023. Australia vs WestIndies, Pakistan vs England, and India vs Bangladesh besides Australia vs SouthAfrica will confirm the two spots. SouthAfrica, SriLanka, and India are at 2nd, 3rd, and 4th spots respectively. Check WTC Points Table & Follow World Test Championships LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.

A major shakeup in the #WTC23 points table after England’s win in Multan 👊

Latest 👉 https://t.co/bxsm2iCVxk pic.twitter.com/NhbJeukyvk

— ICC (@ICC) December 12, 2022

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WTC Finals Race: England dent Pakistan’s chances of making it to WTC finals, check how PAK vs ENG, AUS vs WI & IND vs BAN shape two WTC finalists, Follow LIVE Updates

Pakistan vs England: England out of contention, Pakistan in fray:

After losing eight games in the current cycle, England are virtually out of the race.
Their victory on Monday beefs up their win percent but Stokes side’ are all but out.
The defeat meant Pakistan have also hampered their chances of reaching the finals.
Pakistan only have on emore game left against England. Then, Pakistan will play against defending champions NewZealand.
They will move to 61.9 by winning three matches and that could also prove to be enough if other teams lose their matches.
If India and Pakistan both win their remaining matches we can witness an Ind-Pak final in WTC.

Australia vs WestIndies, Australia vs SouthAfrica: Aussies favorites to reach WTC finals

Australia are currently placed on top of the WTC points table with 75% points.
They are the prime contenders to reach the final of WTC.
With an easy win over WestIndies in the second Test in Adelaide, Australia have extended their lead.
The Aussies still have 7 matches to go.
However, the following SouthAfrica series will decide the fate.
If Australia win, they will confirm their place in the final.
But if SA win the series down under, they will topple Pat Cummins & Co for the top spot.
But Australia’s biggest challenge will be the four-match away tour of India.
If Australia wins all four home Tests but lose all four in India, their win percentage will drop to 63.16.
In such a scenario, India can leapfrog Australia by winning all six of their remaining Tests.
Australia should try to win six of the upcoming matches. It will take their win percentage to 68.42.

Bangladesh out of the race, India needs to win their all-remaining games

How can India reach WTC Finals?

Despite current 4th-place standing, India’s fate is not completely in their hands.
Team India’s next Test assignment is against Bangladesh.
A 2-0 win will help Rohit Sharma & Co reach 52% points.
The most important series will against Australia.
India host current leaders Australia in a four-match series.
A 4-0 or 3-0 win could take India to 2nd spot provided England win in Pakistan.
India will also have to depend on NewZealand winning against SriLanka in their 2-match series.
If they win all of their next six matches, their win percentage will jump to 68.06.

Bangladesh on the other hand are languishing right at the bottom of the points table. The Bangla Tigers have lost eight matches and won only one. As a result, they are out of contention to reach the finals of WTC.

WTC Points Table (2021-2023)

POS	TEAM	PCT (%)	PTS	MATCHESW L D	SER	PEN
1	AUSTRALIA	75	108	7 1 2003	4	0
2	SOUTH AFRICA	60	72	6 4 2000	4	0
3	SRI LANKA	53.33	64	5 4 2001	5	0
4	INDIA	52.08	75	6 4 2002	4	-5
5	PAKISTAN	46.67	56	4 4 2002	5	0
6	WEST INDIES	45	54	4 4 2002	5	-2
7	ENGLAND	41.67	100	8 8 2004	6	-12
8	NEW ZEALAND	25.93	28	2 6 2001	4	0
9	BANGLADESH	13.33	16	1 8 2001	5	0