India’s road to World Test Championship Final

The World Test Championship is just one week away as India and Australia prepare themselves to lock horns in the summit clash from June 7 at the Oval in London. Both Australia and India finished in the first and the second spot respectively on the WTC points table in the 2021-23 cycle. India won ten Tests out of 18 and lost five while three matches ended in a draw. As India prepare to play their second consecutive WTC final, let’s take a look at their journey in the WTC cycle 2021-23:

England vs India, 2021-22 (2-2)

After losing the inaugural WTC final against New Zealand, India restarted their journey in England. The five-match series began with a rain-forced draw in the first match. India managed to win the second Test in an incredible manner as they scripted a remarkable comeback in the second Test at Lord’s and won the Test.

However, they ended up losing the next game at Leeds but won the fourth Test at the Oval to take a 2-1 lead in the series. The fifth match of the tour was shifted next year which India ended up losing and the series got level at 2-2.

India vs New Zealand, 2021 (1-0)

New Zealand managed to draw the first Test on the last day as regular captain Virat Kohli was rested. However, they made a great comeback in the second Test winning the game by 372 runs and won the series 1-0.

South Africa vs India, 2021-22 (1-2)

India won the first Test by 113 runs but ended up losing the second game by seven wickets in Virat Kohli’s absence. South Africa held their nerve and further managed to beat India in the last Test and won the series by 2-1.

India vs Sri Lanka, 2022 (2-0)

India stamped their authority on Sri Lanka under the leadership of their new captain Rohit Sharma and completed a 2-0 whitewash, winning the first Test by an innings and 222 runs while the second by 238 runs.

Bangladesh vs India, 2022 (2-0)

In the absence of their captain Rohit Sharma, the Indian team was led by vice-captain KL Rahul who took the team to a comfortable victory in the first game by 188 runs. However, India were in huge trouble in the second Test and were on the verge of facing an embarrassing loss before Ravichandran Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer completed the rescue act and chased down 145 with three wickets in hand.

India vs Australia, 2023 (2-1)

India started the series in emphatic fashion by winning the first two Tests back-to-back. However, they ended up losing the third Test by nine wickets and feared getting knocked out of WTC. However, Sri Lanka’s loss in the first Test against New Zealand cleared India’s path to WTC final and a draw in the last Test against Australia secured their place in the summit clash.