The third and ongoing cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) has heated up a lot, as all the sides have been competing with each other to finish among the top two positions of the table. India is currently at the top position in the rankings with six victories in nine games at a percentage of 68.52, while Australia sits at the second position with eight wins in 12 games.
India, under the captaincy of both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, didn’t enjoy a great time in the final of the last two WTC events, as they lost the first final against New Zealand in 2019-21, who became the inaugural champions of the competition, while Australia blew them off in 2021-23 season.
India will begin their home season on September 19, where they will play the two-match red-ball series against Bangladesh and then the three-match Test series against New Zealand before they make their trip to Australia for the five-match series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023-24.
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In the case of the Pat Cummins-led side, they will face Rohit Sharma’s men at home before touring Sri Lanka for another two-match red-ball series towards the start of the next year. New Zealand and South Africa do have a chance to make it to the final, but so many equations need to be right for that to happen.
India or Australia? Dinesh Karthik picks this team to win the third cycle of the WTC 2024-25
In the recent ‘AskCB with DK’ show in Cricbuzz, the former Indian wicket-keeper batter, Dinesh Karthik was asked to pick two teams who could make it into the final of the third edition of the WTC, besides guessing the result of the game.
In the video, the Tamil Nadu-born has backed the Rohit Sharma-led Blue Brigade to give another shot at the title against Australia, as it would be a repeat of the last year. The result, according to the veteran, won’t be the same as he believes that the Indian team would have a better chance of winning the competition in this edition.
“I think it’s going to be Australia will be in the World Test Championship final, and that is India’s chance to get redemption. Two years ago, they beat us at the Oval.” The former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter expressed. “Here is a chance that’s going to come again in 2025, and I genuinely wish India goes on to cross that hurdle and beat Australia in that World Test Championship final.”
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More than the final of the WTC, the focus for both the teams has been towards the upcoming five-match Test series in the BGT 2024-25, as the tourists aim to make it a hat-trick of series wins in Australia after they won the last two seasons in 2018-19 and 2020-21. The home side will be keen to register their first BGT series win since the 2014-15 summer.
The final of the WTC 2023-25 will take place from June 11 to 15, while June 16 has been scheduled as a reserve day at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.