How difficult is it for India to qualify for World Test Championship 2023-25 final? (Source – Getty Images)
Visitors New Zealand (NZ) defeated India (IND) by 25 runs in the third Test of the series at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai. The Rohit Sharma-led side had a terrible time with the bat throughout the series, which led India to suffer its maiden whitewash Test series defeat for the first time in 24 years. The qualification scenario for the World Test Championship (WTC) final got complicated as well, as there’s a huge possibility of India failing to make it to the summit clash for the first time since its inception.
Ahead of the New Zealand series, India required four wins in eight matches. Now, with three back-to-back defeats, they are in a tight spot and are required to win at least four matches and draw another one in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, slated to begin on November 22. They have managed consecutive series wins in Down Under but winning four and drawing another will never be an easy task.
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Notably, in the series against New Zealand, India’s batting unit struggled heavily against the spinners as the batters failed to establish their authority. Barring Rishabh Pant, all the other batters struggled and that led to the humiliation at home. There were glimpses of some batters doing well but consistency is one area that they struggled in big time.
India need to win BGT 2024-25 Test series against Australia for WTC final hopes
The Australian pacers will not make it any easy for the Indian batters. They are hungry to defeat India in a Test series for the first time in almost 10 years as many of their players, including captain Pat Cummins have already stated that they are ready to break the chain and get the job done when India travel later in the month.
For Australia, they need to win five Test matches in seven games (five against India, two against Sri Lanka). Sri Lanka, who are sitting third on the points table, need to win all four of their Test matches, while New Zealand need to win all three against England and South Africa will have to win all four against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.