November 3, 2024, will be etched into the history books. A team like India with stars spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar suffered its first-ever series whitewash at home of three or more Tests.
Coming off a 2-0 loss in Sri Lanka recently, which saw their captain Tim Southee stepping down and Tom Latham taking charge, New Zealand did the unthinkable. They defeated India in their own game of spin not in single Test but in three Tests to take the series 3-0.
This also meant that India are in real danger of qualifying for the World Test Championship final next at Lord's. India were the WTC table toppers ahead of the series against New Zealand with a PCT of 74.24, but their whitewash has hit a major dent to their PCT and also to their chances of the final.
After three losses, India have lost their top spot in the standings and now have a PCT of 58.33. The serial finalists of the WTC (India have played the final both times previously) are still in the hunt to make it a hat-trick but their chances have narrowed down like never before.
How can India still qualify for the WTC final?
For the unversed, five teams - India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are still in contention for a place in the final with no team assured of a final berth as of now.
India can still qualify for the WTC final without being dependent on other results if they win the five-match away Test series against Australia by a margin of 4-0. If they have to remain self-dependent, the Men in Blue can't afford to drop a Test now with four minimum wins required. That is the only series left for them.
Four wins will take India to a PCT of 65.79, which would be more than New Zealand even if they beat England 3-0. If Aussies lose four Tests against India with one draw and win their remaining two against Sri Lanka, their PCT will stay at 51.75 which would be extremely low than India's if they win four.
In this case, only South Africa can go past India. The Proteas have four Tests remaining and can get to a maximum of 69.44%. New Zealand have three more Tests remaining and they can get to a maximum of 64.29%.
However, the Men in Blue can still reach the final if they don't win by 4-0 against Australia but for that, they would need other results to go their way. All said the road to the final is very narrow for India, especially if they have to remain self-dependent.
