India's nine-wicket defeat to Australia in the third Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test at Holkar Stadium on Friday has made Rohit Sharma & Co's path to qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, to be held from June 7-11 at The Oval in London, a little bit complex.
While India hold on to second place on the standings with 60.29 of their possible WTC points and are in prime position to qualify for the final, they can still be overtaken by Sri Lanka should results go against Rohit Sharma's side over the coming weeks.
A victory in the fourth Test against Australia in Ahmedabad will ensure India's spot in the WTC Final. But another victory for the visitors or a draw will leave the door open for Sri Lanka to overtake India and snatch the last spot for the final.
Sri Lanka have two Tests to play away from home against New Zealand this month and know they have to complete a 2-0 series sweep over the Kiwis to have any chance of snatching a spot for the WTC final.
But with New Zealand recently holding England to a 1-1 draw at home, it is easier said than done for Sri Lanka to stop India from qualifying for the WTC final unless something dramatic happens.
For Australia, they have now got their first-ever spot in a WTC final. Australia have been the dominant side during this WTC period of 2021-23, with Pat Cummins' side having won 11 of the 18 Tests they have featured in, and winning the Indore Test with Steve Smith at helm.
The victory in Indore has helped Australia amass an impressive 68.52 of their possible WTC points and that means they will finish the current period in first place on the standings regardless of the result in the final Test of their ongoing series against India at Ahmedabad.
Remaining ICC World Test Championship Fixtures
South Africa v West Indies (Second Test) - Johannesburg, South Africa, March 8-12
New Zealand v Sri Lanka (First Test) - Christchurch, New Zealand, March 9-13
India v Australia (Fourth Test) - Ahmedabad, India, March 9-13
New Zealand v Sri Lanka (Second Test) - Wellington, New Zealand, March 17-21