Team India kept their ICC World Test Championships hopes alive with an emphatic 188-run win over Bangladesh in the opening Test in Chattogram. KL Rahul-led side had several heroes in the game that was wrapped up early on day five of the match.
India Take 2-0 Lead over Bangladesh
Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin’s unbeaten 71-run partnership prevented India from blanking them and won the match by a slender 3-wicket margin and claimed the series 2-0. Chasing a target of 145, India lost seven wickets in the process as Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran through their top order with a fifer. However, Ashwin and Iyer revived the team from a precarious situation and took their team home and gave them crucial WTC points.
Cheteshwar Pujara (90, 102*), Shubman Gill (20, 110) and Kuldeep Yadav (5/40 & 3/73) starred for the visitors in the emphatic win. India were playing a Test match after a gap of five months and did well in all the departments to secure a comfortable victory.
England created history in Pakistan
England defeated Pakistan by 26 runs in the second Test in Multan and with that win, they claimed the Test series 2-0 in the latter’s backyard on Monday (December 12). This was Pakistan’s third consecutive Test loss. It was the first instance since 1959 when Pakistan lost three consecutive Tests at home.
With this Test series defeat, Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the ICC World Test Championships 2022-23 Final have been thwarted.
Pakistan WTC Final chances
India stay in WTC Final race
South Africa’s Test series defeat against England by a 2-1 margin, in September, bolstered the Indian Cricket Team’s chances of qualifying for the WTC Final. The Dean Elgar-led side’s WTC points percentage (PCT) dropped from 75 to 60 with two back-to-back defeats in England.
Earlier in July, Team India lost to England by 7 wickets in the rescheduled fifth Test in Edgbaston. Adding insult to injury, they were also docked two WTC points for slow over-rate in England.
Let us take a look at India’s chances of WTC Qualification after the India-Bangladesh Test series.
Team India WTC Rankings
Team India have jumped to the second spot in the ICC Test Championships 2021-23 Points Table after clean sweeping the Test against Bangladesh. With 8 wins, 4 losses and 2 draws,India’s win percentage has improved from 55.77 to 58.93.
India now have 99 points, including a penalty of 5 points.
Top 3 teams in WTC Standings
Number one ranked side in the ICC Test Rankings, Australia are seated at the top in the WTC team standings with 75 percentage points. The Pat Cummins-led side has 108 points with 8 wins and 3 draws and one defeat in 4 Test series. If Australia beat South Africa in the upcoming Test series, they’ll all but qualify for the WTC final.
India:
India are second in the team standings in WTC and the upcoming Test series against Australia at home will decide their fate.
South Africa:
South Africa – who defeated India in the three-Test series 2-1 earlier this year – were looking favourites but the series defeat in England has dented their chance. They’ve also lost the first Test against Australia in the latter’s backyard.
With 6 wins and 5 losses, they have slipped to the third spot with 54.55 percentage points. They’ll have to win the remaining games in Australia but that alone won’t guarantee them a spot in the final. They’ll have to hope that Australia beat India in the four-match series in the latter’s home in February-March.
Coach Rahul Dravid’s team has ended the year 2022 on a positive note with a 2-0 win in Bangladesh and will be looking to take the confidence to the Australia series at home.For Team India to qualify for the World Test Championships 2021-23 Final, they will now have to win the series against Australia. Pakistan’s loss at the hands of England at their home has bolstered India’s chances of qualification for the WTC final.
Only Australia are higher in the rankings than India.The runners-up of the WTC 2019-21, are scheduled to host Australia for 4 Tests.
India’s Qualification Scenarios:
# If Australia beat South Africa by a 3-0 win, then India will just need to win by any margin against Australia.
# If South Africa win any of the remaining matches against Australia and win by 2-0 Vs West Indies, thenIndia need to win by 3-1, 3-0 or even 2-0 Vs Australia.
Team India WTC Schedule (Tentative)
Feb 2023: India Vs Australia 1st Test Feb 09 – Feb 13 – Nagpur
Feb 2023: India Vs Australia 2nd Test – Feb 17 – Feb 21 – New Delhi
March 2023: India Vs Australia 3rd Test – March 1 – March 5 – Dharamsala
March 2023: India Vs Australia 4th Test – March 09 – March 13 – Ahmedabad
Remaining WTC Fixtures for 2022-23
AUS vs SA:
Dec 17-21: Australia vs South Africa 1st Test in Australia
Dec 26-30: Australia vs South Africa 2nd Test in Australia
Jan 4-8, 2023: Australia vs South Africa 3rd Test in Australia
Dec 26-30, 2022: Pakistan vs New Zealand 1st Test in Karachi
Jan 3-7, 2023: Pakistan vs New Zealand 2nd Test in Karachi
New Zealand will play against Pakistan in Karachi but both teams are out of contention. So, only India-Australia 2023 Test series holds relevance now.
So, only Australia, India and South Africa are in contention for the WTC Final.
India vs Pakistan in WTC Final hopes end
Pakistan were a rung above India in the WTC standings with 52.38 percentage points before the series against England. The Babar Azam-led side had 44 points from the three bilateral Test series they played. They had won 3 Tests, lost 2 and drawn 2. But two consecutive series defeats have all but ended their possibility of the WTC Final.
They have 56 points in 11 games (4 wins, 5 losses, 2 draws) while Sri Lanka – who are placed third currently in 10 Tests – have more points (64) than Pakistan.
Ayush's blog 
Very nice excellent analysis
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