Former India player turned commentator Aakash Chopra said that India are heading towards their third consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) final as well. He also feels that Australia are also favourably placed to reach the last edition’s summit clash.
The WTC final will take place at Lord’s from June 11, 2025. India and Australia are currently the top two teams in the WTC points table with 68.52 and 62.50 percentage points, respectively as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “Let’s talk about India first. We are moving fast towards our third consecutive WTC final. In fact, we are running. India are the table toppers currently. They have 10 matches left. If India win all their 10 matches, our best possible finish will be 85%,” he said (0:55).”However, I feel our place in the final will be secured even if we win one or two matches in Australia, provided we do well at home against Bangladesh and New Zealand and it’s better if we don’t drop matches there,” the former India opener added.
Aakash Chopra also noted that Australia are likely to qualify for the WTC final if they register a 4-1 win in the home series against India as well. Meanwhile, Chopra added that third-placed New Zealand have a slightly tough task of reaching the final. New Zealand beat India in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship. However, New Zealand finished sixth in the previous cycle and will want to play the title decider.
“The defending champions Australia are very strong contenders. Australia still have two series left. One is against us, which will have five Tests, and the second is against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. Their place at Lord’s will be secured if they beat us 4-1. If they win all seven Tests, their maximum point percentage will be 76.3%,” he added.
“New Zealand’s road is slightly tough. They have eight matches left. The problem is that they will have to play the first two Test matches against Sri Lanka in Galle, that won’t be easy. If they came out from there, they have to play three against India, and then three Tests in the end at home against England. If they win seven matches, they can get a place in the final but the job will be difficult. If they win all eight matches, their percentage will become 78.57, which is fantastic, but I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
