WTC Points Table: How is India placed and what do they need for the grand finale?

With less than a year to go for the WTC 2023-25 final, the race of the points table is heating up. Currently India holds the pole position with a win percentage of 68.52 while Australia is next in line with a victory percentage of 60.

Up next are the champions of the 2019-21 WTC, New Zealand with a win percentage of 50 followed by Bangladesh that boasts 45.8 percent. England, who has played the highest number of Tests in this cycle so far with 16, sits in the sixth position with a percentage of 42.2.

India has 10 Tests to play which will see them play five matches home, two against Bangladesh, three against New Zealand. The remaining five will be against Australia in the latter’s backyard, a series that can potentially seal the fate of the two finalists in the current iteration of WTC.

India qualified for the 2021-23 final with a percentage of 58.8. To keep their numbers north of 60, they will need 63 points more which can be attained with five wins and a draw. Six wins will lift the numbers to 64.03 but if they want to continue at the current rate which is a staggering 68.52, they will need seven wins which will enhance their overall percentage to 69.03.

On the contrary, their closest pursuer, Australia will need 47 points more from the remaining seven Test matches to finish with a number more than 60 percent. Four wins or three wins and a draw should get the job done for them. New Zealand has eight of their Test matches in this cycle remaining out of which five of them will be in Asia. Out of the remaining fixtures, they will need either six wins to finish beyond 60 or at least five wins and a draw.

Bangladesh, who will be up next against India in the two-match Test series, have six Tests to play. If they win all of their remaining fixtures then they will end up with a win percentage of 72.92 while four wins out of six will land them 56.25.

For Pakistan it has been a nightmare so far and they currently sit with a win percentage of 19.05. They have three home Test matches against England and two away against South Africa. Apart from the mortifying loss against Bangladesh, they also dropped six points due to slow over rates which dampened their chances even further.

A glimpse at the points table:

1.    India – 68.52%

2.    Australia – 62.5%

3.    New Zealand – 50%

4.    Bangladesh – 45.8%

5.    Sri Lanka – 42.9%

6.    South Africa – 38.9%

7.    Pakistan – 19.1%

8.    West Indies – 18.5%