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Indian Cricket team (Source - X)
India is riding high on confidence after their record-breaking victory of 434 runs against England in the 3rd test at Rajkot. With the crushing victory, India have taken a substantial lead of 2-1 in the five-match series with the next test set to begin on February 23 in Ranchi.
India’s recent 434-run victory against England has also changed the dynamics of the World Test Championship table for the 2023-25 cycle. India who were placed at the 3rd spot in the WTC table before the Rajkot test have now moved to the second spot in the table after the victory whereas the Australian team has moved down to the third spot in the table.
India have won 4 out of the 7 matches they have played so far in the cycle and are sitting comfortably at the 2nd spot with a win percentage of 59.52. Australia on the other hand have won six out of their 10 matches and are in the 3rd spot with a win percentage of 55. New Zealand are at the top spot in the points table after winning three of their four matches with a win percentage of 75%.
At this juncture, it is looking like the competition for the top two spots is amongst New Zealand, India, and Australia and one out of these will again reach the finals of the World Test Championship which will take place again in England at the iconic Lords Cricket Ground. India is the only team that has played the two consecutive WTC finals with New Zealand and Australia reaching one time each in the two finals that have been played so far.
England’s chances for the WTC finals look grim
It is looking like England is again going to miss a berth in the WTC finals as they are currently placed at the 8th spot after the humiliating loss against India in the 3rd test. England have managed to win only 3 out of the 8 matches they have played so far in the WTC cycle and have a low win percentage of 21.88 which is indicating another disappointing WTC cycle for them despite their revolutionary ‘Bazball’ approach.