EXPLAINED: How Team India Can Reach No. 1 Position In Test Rankings, Qualify For World Test Championship Final

New Delhi: India will face Australia in a four-match Test series at home from next week. The first Test will start on February 9 and will take place at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.

The remaining three matches will be played in Delhi (February 17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5) and Ahmedabad (March 9-13). The 2023 edition of Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be an important assignment for Team India if it want to reach the World Test Championship final for the second edition in a row.

India played the final of WTC in 2021, but failed to bag the title after losing against New Zealand in the summit clash which was played at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Southampton from June 18-23. This year the final will take place at the Oval in June.

India have a chance to make it to the final. At present they sit at the No.2 position in World Test Championship points table. If they manage to maintain at position after the conclusion of Test series as well, they will directly qualify.

In order to be absolutely sure of securing a place in WTC final, India need to win three out of the remaining four matches. If they win it then irrespective of how other teams are performing, India will make it to the decider. Anything less than that will put India’s chances in jeopardy and they will have to be dependent on the results of other teams, as both Sri Lanka and South Africa can pip India.

South Africa will host West Indies in a two-match Test series later this month and Sri Lanka will travel to New Zealand next month.

India, which is at the No.1 position in ODIs and T20Is can also reach the No.1 position in Test matches if they beat Australia by a margin of two. Which means scoreline of 2-0, 3-1, 3-0 or 4-0 will take India to the top of rankings.