India had its sights set on the final of the second edition, which is planned to take place in 2023 after they were defeated by New Zealand in the first World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2021.

India had 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, keeping the summit match in mind. Due to an epidemic of COVID-19 in the Indian camp, the fifth and final game of the five-match series was postponed until 2022.

India then played a defending champion, NZ in 2 match test series, which they won 1-0. That draw game will haunt India if they fail to make it to the final. They encountered a setback early in the year, losing 1-2 in South Africa, but they bounced back to defeat Sri Lanka 2-0 at home. 

India dropped to the fourth spot in the WTC table with their most recent loss in the rescheduled fifth Test against England. And the win of Sri Lanka over Australia in the final test pushes India to fifth position.

South Africa is at the top with a win % of 71.43. India is fifth in the table.

How can India Qualify?

chances of India qualifying for the WTC are still on but they need a few results to get on their way as well.

Let's have a look at the scenario, 

Six more Test matches of India in the current 2021–23 cycle remain. They still have a two-match series in Bangladesh and a four-match series against Australia at home.

India needs to win all six matches if they fancy their chance to qualify for the final. By winning all the six matches India can take their win % to 68.05 and that may not be enough to take them to the final of WTC.

Dependency on other team

1. Australia :

Australia still has nine Test matches left in the current cycle—three against South Africa, two against the West Indies, and four against India—and they can take first place by winning six of them. If India wins all six of their games while Australia loses all six of its games, India will surpass Australia in the standings.

2. South Africa

Eight games remain for South Africa: three against England, two against New Zealand, and two against Sri Lanka. If India wins all six of their games and South Africa loses three of theirs, they will finish ahead of the Proteas.

3. Pakistan

Pakistan still has seven games remaining to play, and by winning six of them, they may finish ahead of India (3 vs. England, 2 vs. NZ, and 2 vs. SL). Pakistan's victory might be ruined by two defeats or two draws.

4. Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is turning out to be a dark horse in this cycle of WTC. They are standing third in the point table. Sri Lanka too needs to lose at least 3 of their remaining games to make way for India.

A lot of results need to favour India to make it to the final of WTC. The first task for India is to win all the remaining 6 games. 

What do you think can India make it to the final of this cycle of WTC ?