How can team India still make it in the WTC finals? Here’s the answer

The Cricket World Test Championship, which spans from 2023 to 2025, is taking its huge turns thanks to the two Boxing Day Tests-glinting India-Australia at Melbourne and South Africa-Pakistan at Centurion. Just when the set-up was ready for the final day of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test, South Africa pulled off an astonishing two-wicket victory to qualify for the WTC Final at Lord’s from June 11, 2025.

Other contenders for the Final are India, Australia, and Sri Lanka. All three must hope for a South African defeat at Centurion but now the Proteas’ win percentage has gone beyond the reach of all three teams and only one will make it to Lord’s.

Rohit Sharma and Co. will ultimately make the finals if they win in both their remaining Tests against Australia. They won’t need to rely on results in other matches.

If India draws any one of the Tests and win the other, they will need Australia to lose to Sri Lanka in their next two-Test series or wins by a non-winning margin i.e. 1-0. Both Tests are drawn, however, would require an Australian loss of 1-0 in Sri Lanka or 0-0 draw to reach the final.

In this case, if Sri Lanka nail Australia by 2-0, they are ahead of India for a place in the final. India would be out of the run if they lose the remaining two Tests.

Pakistani innings 1 went 211/10 and this looked like a very under-par total. Just one player managed to cross the hallowed half-century mark – Kamran Ghulam scored 54 from 71 – after a too-hot tussle with South Africa’s top player, Kagiso Rabada, who almost took him out multiple times.

On the second innings, the hosts seized control of the Test with 301 runs for 10 wickets, thanks to Aiden Markram’s 89 off 144 balls and debutant Corbin Bosch’s 81 off 93. Pakistan made a much better start to their third innings, their opening stand adding 49 runs before half-centuries from Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel. They, however, collapsed to the lower-order and managed to muster only 237 runs.

148 seemed more than a walk in the park for the Proteas, but Mohammad Abbas produced hat tricks. His scorching spell fired for five in the top six, including top scorer Temba Bavuma (40 off 78). Khurram Shahzad also got Number Three Ryan Rickelton out for a duck, before Abbas took the vital scalp of Bosch, and Naseem Shah got wicket keeper Kyle Verreynne.

At Lunch, South Africa were at 116/8 with Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen at the crease and Pakistan in the driving seat. But the duo showed brilliant composure to see off the first few deliveries and then hit eight boundaries together to clean up the deficit in no time.

Jansen then hit the winning boundary to finish on 16 (24) while Rabada remained unbeaten on 31 (26), casting him as a demigod in South Africa, perhaps.

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