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South Africa defeated Pakistan by two wickets in the first Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion, reducing the hosts to 99/8 after chasing a modest target of 148 before Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen took their team over the finish line with their undefeated 51-run partnership. With the victory, South Africa became the first team to earn a spot in the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final, leaving only one spot left for the other teams to contend for.
SA seal spot in WTC Final
With seven victories from 11 games and a 66.67% point percentage, South Africa is comfortably atop the WTC rankings. Australia, India, and Sri Lanka are now vying for the final slot. With nine victories from 17 games and a points percentage of 55.88, India is presently ranked third. They must defeat Australia in the last two Test matches of the current series if they want to go to the WTC final independently.
How can India qualify?
India will finish with a 57.017 points percentage, though, if they win the next Test in Sydney and draw the current one in Melbourne. For India to qualify, the Rohit Sharma-led team must next hope that Australia draws at least one match in their series against Sri Lanka, keeping them at 55.26%. Australia will need to win one match against Sri Lanka if they are able to draw both of their remaining matches against India. They will advance straight to the final, though, if they defeat India in the two games left in the series. Even two draws against Sri Lanka will advance them to the final if they win one and draw the other match against India.
The Rohit Sharma-led side is playing Australia in Melbourne Test right now. They had a great grip on the match but they lost their chance after Nathan Lyon and Scot Boland joined a magnificent partnership for the final wicket and changed the course of the match. They will now have a big target in front of them on Day 5 and considering their recent batting woes it will not be an easy task.
With five wins from 11 games and a 45.45% point percentage, Sri Lanka is now ranked fifth. Additionally, they have a slim chance of qualifying for the WTC final if they defeat Australia 2-0 in their most recent Test series, which would give them a 53.84% points percentage. In addition, they must hope that both of the remaining games in the India-Australia series finish in a tie.
With five wins from 11 games and a 45.45% point percentage, Sri Lanka is now ranked fifth. Additionally, they have a slim chance of qualifying for the WTC final if they defeat Australia 2-0 in their most recent Test series, which would give them a 53.84% points percentage. In addition, they must hope that both of the remaining games in the India-Australia series finish in a draw.
