As the cricketing world turned its gaze towards him World Test Championship (WTC) The final, scheduled for June 2025 at Lord’s, has significantly changed the final Boxing Day Test qualification landscape. Australia184 run win over ‘s India Not only did he give them a 2-1 lead Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 they also increased their chances of reaching the WTC finals for the second time in a row. Now that both teams are fighting for a place, the question is: What if India and Australia finish with the same points?
Crucial final Test for India
India’s hopes of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy hinge on their performance in the upcoming Test in Sydney from January 3-7, 2025. India are currently sitting on 114 points in the WTC standings and need a win to take their total to 126. Out of a possible 228 points. This would result in a percentage of marks (PCT) of 55.26%, crucial to their qualification hopes. However, a draw or defeat would put them out of contention altogether.
Also READ: Complete Indian team schedule till IPL 2025: England series, Champions Trophy and more
Australia’s road to victory
Australia, on the other hand, currently have 118 points and can secure a maximum of 154 points if they win all their remaining matches. Even if they lose to India in Sydney, their fate will depend on their upcoming series Sri Lanka. If Australia lose to India and Sri Lanka win 2-0 or 1-0, India can leapfrog Australia in the standings.
Same points scenario
The scenario of both teams finishing with the same score – 126 each – is plausible. This could happen if India win in Sydney while Sri Lanka draw their series against Australia. In this case, both teams would end up with a PCT of 55.26%. WTC rules stipulate that if the teams are tied on points, the team with the most streaks will advance. Both teams will each have three series wins, necessitating additional tiebreakers.
The deciding factor of the tie breaker
In case of equal points and back-to-back wins, the next decisive factor is the percentage of points won in away matches. India’s tour record includes two Tests West India (1 win, 1 draw), two South Africa (1 win, 1 loss) and five in Australia (2 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw), giving them a total of 56 points out of a possible 108 points (51.85% win rate). By contrast, Australia’s away performance includes five Tests England (2 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw), two Tests New Zealand (2 wins) and the two Tests in Sri Lanka (2 draws) give them just 60 points out of 108 points (55.56% win rate).
With such high stakes, cricket fans eagerly await the conclusion of this exciting series and the subsequent matches involving Sri Lanka and Australia, it is clear that each game will be of monumental importance for both India and Australia.
