South Africa’s defeat to England can open doors for India to the WTC Final

With the three-match series level at 1-1, England and South Africa will lock horns at the Oval with everything to play for. Not just for the series but also for the small matter of the World Test Championship (WTC) points table.

For the hosts, who currently sit in the bottom half of the table (7th), a win would mean keeping the fairly unlikely hopes for the final still alive. For Dean Elgar & co, who sit only below Australia in the table, a defeat will not harm their current standings but will definitely open things up a bit for the three Asian teams sitting below them.

Sri Lanka (53.33%), India (52.08%), and Pakistan (51.85%) occupy the third, fourth and fifth slot



respectively, and have the most to benefit from with South Africa (66.67%) losing a series.

The Proteas are also scheduled to visit top placed Australia (70%) later this year. A three-match series that has the potential to make either or both the participants lose out on WTC percentage points.

India, who have defeated New Zealand and Sri Lanka at home during this Championship cycle, lost out on some crucial points away from home as they lost the three-match series in South Africa (2-1) and drew the five-match contest in England (2-2).

The Rohit Sharma led team still have an away series to play against Bangladesh and a home series against Australia.