After their humiliating 0-2 series loss to South Africa at home, India fell to fifth place in the standings, severely hurting their prospects of making it to the World Test Championship (WTC) finals.
India’s biggest run loss in the conventional five-day format occurred on Wednesday in the second Test at Guwahati, which they lost by 408 runs.
With their PCT (percentage) falling to 48.15, the squad, which had drawn the series against England earlier this year, is currently in fifth place, below Pakistan.
In the current WTC cycle, India has participated in nine Test matches, winning four, losing four, and drawing one. In August next year, they will fly to Sri Lanka for a two-match series, then in October-November, they will play a two-Test series in New Zealand.
However, the Proteas’ status in the standings has been reinforced by South Africa’s first Test series triumph in India in 25 years.
With 36 points from their four Test matches, the reigning WTC champions are presently in second place, only behind leaders Australia. Their PCT increased from 66.67 to 75.
While Sri Lanka and Pakistan have each played one series in the current cycle, New Zealand, the inaugural edition champions, have not yet played any. The top two teams advance to the 2027 championship game.
