Cricket News
Team India move into top spot in WTC rankings after New Zealand suffer heavy defeat
The likely teams apart from India who can qualify are Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia.
Team India received a huge boost from Australia’s convincing victory over New Zealand during the first Test in Wellington, as Rohit Sharma’s team surged to the top of the 2023–25 World Test Championship (WTC) points standings.
The BlackCaps, who were atop the table heading towards their two-match home series versus their Trans-Tasman opponents, fell to second place with their second Test defeat in five games during the two-year cycle.
Their percentage of points earned dropped to 60% as a result of their crushing loss against the Australians. Thus far in the cycle, Rohit and his team have won five Tests and lost two. They also played a drawn Test against the West Indies in July 2023.
After eight Test matches and 64.58 points percentage, India has taken the top spot after defeating England for the third time in a row to establish an unassailable 3-1 advantage in the five-match series. India and England will play their fifth and last Test of the home series starting on Thursday in Dharamshala.
How is Team India placed in the newly updated WTC points table?
After a stunning triumph in Cape Town, Team India had previously defeated the West Indies 1-0 in July 2023 and drew the two-match Test series in South Africa. At this point in the cycle, the two-time runners-up in the Test championship lead the rankings despite two losses.
With a win percentage of 59.09, the Australians maintained their third-place ranking despite their spectacular victory at the Basin Reserve. Bangladesh (50), Pakistan (36.66), the West Indies (33.33), and South Africa (25) follow, in that order.
England, who have won three and lost five Test matches, are ranked ninth due to several over-rate penalties. After losing their initial two Test matches, Sri Lanka is ranked lowest among the nine teams. Both the teams would be hoping to make big strides in their upcoming Test series as well. The likely teams apart from India who can qualify are Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia.
