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New Zealand’s 323-run defeat in the 2nd Test against England is good news for India, as now a win margin of 3-1 or 3-0 against Australia will also book India’s place in the WTC 2025 final.
England’s 323-run win over NZ in 2nd Test is good news for India. (Picture Credit: AP)
England beat New Zealand by 323 runs on Sunday (December 8) to win the second Test of the ongoing three-match series played at Basin Reserve in Wellington. The Ben Stokes-led side dismissed the Kiwis for 259 runs in reply to the 583-run target. Wicketkeeper-batter Tom Blundell scored a century for the Black Caps in the second innings, but it was not enough to prevent the Tom Latham-led side from losing the second straight Test match in front of home fans.
By winning the second Test inside three days, England has taken a 2-0 lead in the bilateral series. The defeat in the home series has now crushed Kiwis chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final. The 2021 winners are now out of the race to finish in the top two and play in the final match, which is scheduled to take place at Lord’s from June 11 to 15 next year.
Even if New Zealand beat England in the third Test, which is set to take place at Seddon Park in Hamilton from December 14 to 18, then too it can’t finish with more than 48.21 PCT%. India, Australia, South Africa, and Sri Lanka are the other four teams fighting for a place in the WTC final, and two of them are almost certain to finish with more PCT points than the Kiwis.
New Zealand’s defeat in back-to-back Tests against England is good news for Team India, as now even after losing one Test of the ongoing five-match Test series against Australia, India can finish in the top two and qualify for the third straight WTC final. Before the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India needed to win at least four matches, but now a series win with a margin of 4-1, 3-1, or 3-0 will even do the job for India.
If India wins the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a scoreline of 4-1, then it will end the WTC 2023-25 cycle with a PCT% of 64.03, and in the case of a 3-1 or 3-0 win margin, India’s PCT% will be 60.52 and 62.28, respectively.
Australia will finish with not more than 57.01 PCT% if they lose Border-Gavaskar Trophy of 1-3, 0-3 or 1-4.
Sri Lanka and South Africa are currently engaged in a two-match Test series, and both of them will have two more matches to play after the conclusion of the ongoing second Test in Gqeberha. Sri Lanka and South Africa both can’t win all the remaining three Tests.
If Sri Lanka suffers defeat in one of the three upcoming Tests, then it can’t finish with more than 53.84 PCT%, and if South Africa loses one of the next three Tests, then it will finish with a maximum of 61.11 PCT%. In all these scenarios, India can afford to lose one of the five Tests against Australia and still qualify for the WTC 2025 final.
- Location :
Wellington, New Zealand
