Indian team is seen on day 3 of the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney on January 5, 2025. India are out of the World Test Championship final and also lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia. Australia entered their second WTC final.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Australia defeated India by six wickets on Sunday (January 5, 2025). With this win the Australian team has regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a gap of 10 years.

With this 1-3, India are out of the World Test Championship final. India was the only team to have played the last two WTC finals. India had lost both the finals against New Zealand and Australia respectively.

India started the latest series on a strong note with an emphatic victory at Perth, but Australia bounced back strongly to level the series at Adelaide. Australia took a 2-1 lead in the fourth Test at Melbourne and defeated India in the final Test.

This win has also enabled Australia to enter their second successive World Test Championship final to be played at Lords in June. They will be up against South Africa.

India fans show their support during the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne. India may have lost the crucial Boxing Day contest by 184 runs but all is not lost as far as their chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final are concerned.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

India may have lost the crucial Boxing Day contest by 184 runs but all is not lost as far as their chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final are concerned.

To qualify for the final, India must win the last Test of the series against Australia at Sydney, and then hope for a positive result for Sri Lanka (or a 0-0 draw) when Australia tour the island nation early next year.

Post the loss, India’s point percentage (PCT) has dropped to 52.78 from 55.89. Australia, on the other hand boosted their PCT as they now have 61.46.

South Africa have already qualified for the WTC final after beating Pakistan in the first Test by two wickets on Sunday.

If India manage to win in Sydney, they will have 55.26 PCT and Australia will have 54.26. A win out of two Tests against Sri Lanka then would be enough for Australia to go past India’s PCT and join the Proteas in the final.

India began the 2024/25 season in a rampant fashion, securing a confident 2-0 win over Bangladesh at home.

The script that followed was, however, not according to their plans. The side suffered an unprecedented historic loss to New Zealand at home, before embarking on a challenging tour of Australia.

Under stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah, the Men in Blue rekindled their hopes for a third straight appearance in the WTC Final, with a win in the opening Test in Perth.

However, the side has since gone on to lose two games in Australia, and their WTC chances have taken a significant hit.

But Australia’s compelling win in the final session here has improved their chances of a World Test Championship 2025 final appearance, with the side now just one more Test win away from making it to Lord’s next year.

Earlier in Centurion’s Boxing Day Test, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen’s stunning partnership took South Africa to a thrilling two-wicket win over Pakistan in the first Test, confirming their spot at next June’s final.

While Australia are out in front as claimants to the second spot, India are still in with a chance. Sri Lanka too are alive, but both will need a string of favourable results to keep their hopes alive.

South Africa’s Marco Jansen shakes hand with Pakistan’s Babar Azam after their thrilling win at Centurion on December 29, 2024. By winning this Test, South Africa booked their place in the World Test Championship final 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

Fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen turned batting heroes on Sunday (December 29, 2024) as South Africa edged Pakistan by two wickets to win a thrilling first test at Centurion and book themselves a place in next year’s World Test Championship final.

Rabada scored 31 and Jansen 16 in an unbeaten partnership of 51 off 50 balls to see South Africa over the line and deny Pakistan a dramatic comeback victory after Mohammed Abbas took six wickets as he shredded through the home batting order.

The test had a finish more like that of a Twenty20 match as the tailenders delivered success after South Africa had slumped dramatically before lunch and seen Pakistan on the verge of success.

Rabada, who is ranked second best test bowler, emerged, however, as an unlikely batting hero while Jansen delivered the winning runs with a classy drive to the boundary.

Abbas had brought Pakistan close as he took four wickets in a marathon spell of 13 successive overs before lunch as South Africa made heavy work of chasing a modest target of 148.

Abbas, whose overall figures were 6-54 off 19.3 overs, engineered a dramatic collapse after South Africa looked headed for a comfortable victory with 50 runs needed and six wickets in hand.

His haul included the fortunate dismissal of captain Temba Bavuma for 40, who walked after thinking he had edged the ball behind to the wicket keeper but will be ruing not reviewing the decision as the television replays showed it had not touched his bat but rather his pocket on the way through.

Abbas also bowled Aiden Markram and had David Bedingham and Corbin Bosch caught behind — Bosch going first ball to see South Africa slump from 96-4 to 99-8.

South Africa, who host Pakistan in the second test at Newlands next Friday, have now won six successive tests, starting with success in the West Indies in August and following it with two-test series wins in Bangladesh and then home to Sri Lanka last month.

They moved top of the WTC standings after beating Sri Lanka in Gqeberha but needed one more test win in a series against Pakistan to make sure of a place in the final from June 11-15 at Lord’s. 

India retained their position at the top of the World Test Championship standings, but their points percentage (PCT) took a hit. Now, to qualify for their third consecutive WTC Final without relying on external results, India must win four of their remaining six matches.
| Photo Credit: K BHAGYA PRAKSH

India retained their position at the top of the World Test Championship standings, but their points percentage (PCT) took a hit following their 113-run defeat in the second Test against New Zealand on Saturday (October 26, 2024).

India crashed to their first-ever Tests series defeat at home in 12 years as New Zealand handed the hosts a humiliating 113-run loss in the second Test in Pune to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

It was India’s fourth loss in the current WTC cycle, causing their PCT to drop from 68.06 to 62.82. As a result, Rohit Sharma and his men are now just 0.32 ahead of Australia (62.50), who occupy the second spot.

After the third Test against New Zealand next week, India will fly Down Under to play the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which has gained more significance now.

India had won 18 consecutive series before this one, and were heavy favourites to win all the matches in their pursuit of a final spot in the WTC.

But, now, to qualify for their third consecutive WTC Final without relying on external results, India must win four of their remaining six matches.

Set a daunting target of 359 in the fourth innings, India lost wickets at regular intervals to meekly surrender the match and the series to New Zealand.

“I am hurting because we lost the game. Can’t think about what lies ahead and can it affect our chances. We didn’t play well enough, we lost the series and that is hurting. There are things we need to do as a unit,” India skipper Rohit Sharma said at the post-match press conference when asked about the WTC scenario.

India’s loss has opened up the race for the WTC Final, giving the likes of Sri Lanka, South Africa, and New Zealand besides Australia, a strong opportunity to qualify for the WTC25 Final next year.

The historic win against India has elevated the Black Caps, who now have a PCT of 50, to the fourth spot and back into the reckoning for a finals spot.

Sri Lanka, who have a PCT of 55.56, occupy the third spot while Pakistan’s nine-wicket victory against England in the third Test in Rawalpindi has helped them climb to seventh place with 33.33 PCT. England, who have 40.79 PCT, are sixth.