WORLD

South Africa's Last-Ditch Effort to Knock India Out of WTC Final Race

In Desk

Dec 10, 2024 • 1 min read

In a thrilling turn of events, South Africa has taken the top spot in the 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points table, putting pressure on defending champions India to book their place in the tournament finale.

The Proteas' impressive performance in defeating Sri Lanka 2-0, helped them leapfrog India and Australia in the standings. South Africa now need to win one of their remaining two matches against Pakistan to secure a maiden appearance in the WTC title clash.

India, who are currently second on the table with 57.29 points percentage, face an uphill task to qualify for the final. They must win both of their remaining three Tests against Australia and draw at least one of them to maintain their top spot.

However, even if India achieve this feat, South Africa's victory over Pakistan will give them a strong chance to claim the title. Australia, who currently sit third on the table with 55.26 points percentage, also have a slim margin for error and can afford to lose both Tests against India at home.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, who were knocked off their perch by South Africa's impressive performance, are still in contention but require a 2-0 win over Australia and an unexpected slip-up from both India and Australia to reach the final.

Here are the current standings:

India: 57.29 points percentage
South Africa: 55.43 points percentage (but require one more point)
Sri Lanka: 53.85 points percentage
Pakistan: 41.14 points percentage

The fate of these teams hangs in the balance, and it will be interesting to see how they navigate their final two matches.

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