New Zealand’s recent victory over the West Indies in the test series gives them a strong chance of reaching the final of the World Test Championship (WTC), which will be held in June 2021 at Lord’s.New Zealand was on the verge of reaching the top spot in the test ranking, finishing just 0.086 points behind Australia, after their victory in Wellington.However, the situation was not without some uncertainty. For several hours after the match, the ICC’s prediction tool placed New Zealand at the top of the table, generating confusion in the cricket community. Subsequently, the ICC clarified in a tweet that Australia occupies first place with 116.461 ranking points, while New Zealand has 116.375.Australia could cement its lead if it wins the home series against India. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s two victories over the West Indies earned them 300 WTC points from four series in the current cycle, which ends on March 31, 2021.If they repeat the 2-0 result against Pakistan later in their summer, they will end up with 420 points from five series.This will leave India needing to secure five wins, or four wins and three draws, in their last eight test matches (away against Australia and at home against England) to prevent New Zealand from reaching the WTC final, which will be played at Lord’s in the summer.In a world without a pandemic, New Zealand would also have had to score points in a series in Bangladesh, but because some series could not be played, the ICC had to modify the absolute points classification criteria to a percentage of points played.Currently, Australia leads the WTC table, with 82.2% of the points won. If they manage a 2-2 draw against India, they will still lead the table with a percentage of 74.17%, but if they lose 1-2, their percentage will fall to 70%.Australia also has a series of three tests scheduled in South Africa.If New Zealand wins its two tests against Pakistan, it will finish with 84 points per series played or 70% of the points disputed.
By the time India, which currently has 360 points from four series played, finishes its series against Australia and England, it will have played six series or 720 points.
They will need to surpass 504 points to beat New Zealand’s score of 84 points per series or 70% of the points at stake. Each of their remaining victories in the tests will now be worth 30 points, and draws will give them 10 points.Five wins or four wins and three draws will leave them ahead of New Zealand.Regarding the rankings, depending on how the India vs. Australia and New Zealand vs. Pakistan series unfold, Australia could extend its lead at number 1 or concede ground to New Zealand.
