After losing in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final to New Zealand in 2021, Team India would have surely set theirs on the final of the second edition which is scheduled to take place in 2023.

India made a solid start to the 2021-23 cycle with a 2-1 lead in the four-Test matches that were played in England in August-September 2021. However, the final match could not take place at that time due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Indian camp and the match had to be rescheduled to 2022. Later in 2021, India beat New Zealand 1-0 in a two-match Test series.

Things were going hunky-dory until they suffered two straight defeats in South Africa in January earlier this year. And recently a rejuvenated England side thrashed them to a 7-wicket loss in the rescheduled Test. Before its defeat to Proteas – Team India were third on the points table.

However, three consecutive overseas losses have hampered their chances of making it to the finals big time. Adding insult to injury, they were slapped with a fine worth 40 percent of their match fees and penalised two points for maintaining a slow over-rate. Because of these factors, India has slipped below arch-rivals Pakistan on the WTC points table.

But the biggest question in every fan’s mind is how Team India can still make it to the finals of the Test Championship. In this article, we have explained how India are still in the shout of making it to the WTC final.

How can India qualify for World Test Championship (WTC) final

The England vs India five-match Test series ended in 2-2 leaving India with only six matches to qualify for the World Test Championship finals. Besides losing the Edgbaston Test, For India to qualify for the World Test Championship final, they need to win all their remaining six matches and If they do that without any over-rate issues, they will gain 72 points, taking their points percentage to 68.05.

The likes of Australia, South Africa, and Pakistan have to have lesser points percentage for India to qualify for the WTC final. If India wants to finish first, then they would have to defeat Australia 4-0 while hoping for the Australian team to lose or settle for a draw in one of their remaining fixtures.

Everything you need to know about World Test Championship 2021-23

The idea of the World Test Championship (WTC) was first proposed in 2009 with former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe being one of the main brains behind this proposal. The ICC approved the plan and the first tournament was scheduled to take place in England and Wales in 2013.

However, in 2011, the ICC announced that the Test Championship would not take place until 2017 and that the 2013 tournament was canceled.

World Test Championship is a two-year competition that sees an undisputed World Test champion crowned at the end of a league campaign and a final Test match between the top two teams.

Current WTC is in its second edition and the format is the same as the original one. However, this time around the point system has changed a bit. Each team plays three home and three away series to determine the qualifiers for the WTC Final. 

There are nine teams in the competition and that are New Zealand, India, Australia, England, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.