World Test Championship Points table: Australia consolidate at top, India second favourite to qualify

Australia have further reduced South Africa’s chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final after defeating them by an innings and 182 runs in the second Test at the MCG in Melbourne.

While decimating the Proteas, the Kangaroos have further strengthened their hold on the WTC points table and are theoretically one win away from making it to the final.

South Africa will face the heat as they are on the verge of elimination after being so close to qualification for the 2021-23 cycle.

Pakistan drew the first Test against New Zealand after Babar Azam declared dangling a carrot for New Zealand. The Kiwis were set a target of 138 in 15 overs, but the match was called off due to bad light after 7.3 overs. However, the result does not have any significant impact on the WTC Points table.

We take a look at where things stand as of now –

Who are the favourites to qualify for the WTC Final?

Australia and India are the favourites to qualify for the WTC Final as South Africa are simply unable to compete with the Aussies. After being undefeated in three previous Test series in Australia, South Africa have now lost one Down Under.

Australia sit at the top of the table with 78.57 percentage points with 10 wins, while India are second on the table with 58.93 percentage points. South Africa started the Australian tour being second on the table, but have now dropped to the fourth position with 50 percentage points after losing two back-to-back Tests.

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How can India qualify for the WTC Final?

India have a golden chance to feature in back-to-back WTC Finals as they strengthened their stronghold on the points table after defeating Bangladesh 2-0 in their last series of 2022.

If Australia beat South Africa in the third Test as well, India will need to win the four-Test series against Australia irrespective of the margin. However, if South Africa manage to beat Australia in the final Test, and also whitewash West Indies in the subsequent series, India will have to win against the Aussies with a margin of 2-0 or 3-1.

WTC final %
Based on wins from here

🇦🇺: 1 v 🇿🇦,4 v 🇮🇳
0: 57.9%
1: 63.2%
2: 68.4%
3: 73.7%
4: 78.9%
5: 84.2%

🇮🇳: 4 v 🇦🇺
0: 45.8%
1: 51.4%
2: 56.9%
3: 62.5%
4: 68.1%

🇿🇦: 1 v 🇦🇺*,2 v 🏝️
0: 40.0%
1: 46.7%
2: 53.3%
3: 60.0%

🇱🇰: 2 v 🇳🇿*
0: 44.4%
1: 52.8%
2: 61.1%

— Michael Appleton (@michelappleton) December 29, 2022

Is there a possibility for any other team to qualify for the WTC Final?

Sri Lanka are the underdogs who can sneak into the second position if Australia continue their performance and also beat India in India. However, Sri Lanka will have to defeat New Zealand in their two-Test trip which seems largely unlikely.

England is the closest to the top four teams on the points table, however, quite distant from the WTC Final. There are no practical chances for them to qualify for the final.

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