New Zealand Qualify For World Test Championship Final As Australia Withdraw From SA Tour, Ind Vs Eng Now Extremely Crucial

Australia’s decision to withdraw from the South Africa Test series has cleared the air around the WTC Final. New Zealand becomes the first team to reach the Final, who will be the second team? All possible scenarios explained here.

World Test Championship mace. (Source: Getty Images)

The World Test Championship’s final would be played on 18 June 2021. As per the WTC rules, all the matches that are to be played before the day of the final would be counted to rank the teams. With Covid-19 affecting the schedule of Test matches, ICC decided to rank the teams based on the PCT. New Zealand have qualified as their PCT is 70% and stand second on the list just ahead of Australia’s 69.2% and England’s 68.7%. With Australia withdrawing from the SA series, the series between India and England becomes the direct shootout to the final of the WTC, a virtual semi-final.

Now, the scenario is that England, Australia and India, all can qualify for the final of the World Test Championship against New Zealand in June 2021. Let’s go step-by-step:

How can India qualify?

India is currently on the top of the league table. But Kohli’s men will have to win the series by the following margins: 2-0, 2-1, 3-0, 3-1 or 4-0. Drawing the series is no option for India (and England) as Australia would go through if the series is drawn. India will have to go for the kill.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ICC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>#ICC</a> World Test Championship standings after 1st Test between <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvsSA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>#PAKvsSA</a> <a href="https://t.co/chT28By1iF" rel='nofollow'>pic.twitter.com/chT28By1iF</a></p>&mdash; Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) <a href="https://twitter.com/ddsportschannel/status/1355146925880856578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 29, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

How can England qualify?

England is currently at the fourth spot. They have to do something very drastic to go past Australia’s PCT. England will have to win the series by the following margins to qualify: 3-0, 3-1 or 4-0. England’s chances look very slim as Indian team is tough to beat on their home ground.

How can Australia qualify?

The ball is not in the Aussie court anymore after the withdrawal from the SA series. But they have a very bright chance of booking the spot in the WTC Final. Australia will qualify if – India vs England series in drawn with any score-line, If India win the series 1-0 or if England win the series 1-0, 2-0, 2-1.

All this might sound a little confusing for everyone, but one must keep in mind that each series would carry 120 points. So, if a series has two matches then one match would carry 60 points and so on. You can also read ABP News' article explaining the complexities of the World Test Championship and it's scoring system.

India vs. England has got a new dimension now and it is going to be an enthralling watch.