India suffered a crushing defeat in the two-Test series against South Africa, failing to win a single match. This has delivered a major blow to Team Indias hopes of reaching the World Test Championship final. India has now played half of its matches in the 2025-27 cycle - nine out of 18 - and currently stands fifth on the points table of WTC with a win percentage of 48.15.
While India has already played half of its matches, the competition is still in the early stages for many other teams. New Zealand has yet to play a single Test series, while Sri Lanka and Pakistan have played only one each. England has just begun its second series - The Ashes against Australia. Australia, with a 100 win percentage, and South Africa, with a 75 win percentage, hold the top two spots. As a result, India will need an exceptional turnaround to climb back into the top two positions.
Historically, teams need to win approximately 60-65 of their matches to qualify for WTC final. In the 2021-23 cycle, India reached the final with a 58.8 win percentage, while Australia qualified in the previous edition with 67.54.