WTC Points Table: South Africa dethrone Australia after 24 hours with 109-run win over Sri Lanka, India's road to final becomes tougher

Temba Bavuma-led South Africa need one win against Pakistan in their next Test series at home to qualify for WTC 2023-25 final.

Arun Rawal

• Mon • 09 Dec 2024

South Africa celebrates the dismissal of Kusal Mendis of Sri Lanka during day 5 of the 2nd Test match between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Dafabet St George's Park on December 09.

South Africa Test team celebration

Highlights:

South Africa need just one win to qualify for their first ever WTC final.

Australia slipped to second position after South Africa's win over Sri Lanka.

South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 109 runs to complete series whitewash.

South Africa led by Temba Bavuma beat Sri Lanka by 109 runs in the second Test to win the two-Test series 2-0 and claim the top spot on World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 standings. They are win away from qualifying to their first ever WTC final.

South Africa play Pakistan in the two-Test series at home. Just one win in the series will confirm their spot in the WTC final.

South Africa are on top with a 63.33 win percentage. This is their sixth win from 10 Tests. They are followed by Pat Cummins' Australia with a win percentage of 60.71. Rohit Sharma-led India have nine wins from 16 Tests and a win percentage of 57.29.

After the whitewash on South African soil, Sri Lanka stayed in the fourth position with a win percentage of 45.45, slightly over England's 45.24.

1.	South Africa	10	6	3	1	76	63.33
2.	Australia	14	9	4	1	102	60.71
3.	India	16	9	6	1	110	57.29
4.	Sri Lanka	11	5	6	0	60	45.45
5.	England	21	11	9	1	114	45.24
6.	New Zealand	13	6	7	0	69	44.23
7.	Pakistan	10	4	6	0	40	33.33
8.	Bangladesh	12	4	8	0	45	31.25
9.	West Indies	11	2	7	2	32	24.24

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Sri Lanka still alive in WTC final race

Their chances of qualification now depend on the two-Test series at home against Australia next year. They will have a clear picture about their qualification scenario by then. First and foremost, they need Pakistan to whitewash South Africa in two-Test series. Then, they need India to beat Australia in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 by either 4-1 or 3-2. The maximum win percentage Sri Lanka can achieve is 53.85 assuming there are no slow over rate point decductions.

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India's WTC final chances

India need to beat Australia in remaining three Tests to win the series 4-1 which will cement their place in the WTC final with a win percentage of 63.15. However, if they lose even one of the Tests, their win percentage will drop to 57.89. Then, they will hope that Pakistan beat South Africa 2-0 and Sri Lanka whitewash Australia at home, win one Test or both Tests end in a draw.