Sydney Test: Calculations to seal place in WTC final

South Africa has reached the final of the third round of the ICC World Test Championship for the first time. Now everyone’s attention is over the second finalist team of the championship. There are three teams in the race to reach the final - Australia, India and Sri Lanka.

In the meantime, after defeating India in the Melbourne Test, Australia has made the equation of reaching the final easy. The Australians will reach the championship final if they win against India in the fifth and final Test of the series, which is scheduled to start in Sydney on Friday morning. If the Sydney Test is drawn, Australia will have to win at least one match in their Sri Lanka tour to go to the final. Australia has three more Test matches left in the championship. Pat Cummins and his team will go to Sri Lanka this January after the Sydney Test.

Meanwhile, India has only one Test match left in the championship. If they want to play in the final of the tournament for the third consecutive time, Rohit Sharma's team has no choice but to win the Sydney Test. If they lose, their path to the final will be completely closed. And if they draw, they will have to look at the other team. The equation for reaching the final has become quite complicated for India.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka also has a chance of reaching the final. Their survival also depends on the result of the Sydney Test. In order to reach the final, the Sri Lankans will have to win the two-Test series 2-0 at home, in addition to Australia's loss in the Sydney Test.

According to the points table calculation, even if Australia loses two Tests in the Sri Lanka tour after winning the Sydney Test, its percentage points will be 57.02. Then India will have 50 points and Sri Lanka will have 53.85 points. In this case, the final will be confirmed for Australia.

Currently, the percentage points list shows Australia's achievement is 61.46 points, India's 52.87 points and Sri Lanka's 45.45 points. If the Sydney Test is drawn and Australia loses two matches on the Sri Lanka tour, its percentage points will be 53.51. And if India wins in Sydney and Australia draws the series 1-1 against Sri Lanka, then Australia's points will be 57.02 and India's will be 55.26. After that, India will have to wait for the results of the Sri Lanka series and pray that Australia does not draw more than one match. If Australia loses one match and draws one match on the Sri Lanka tour, India will go to the final. If the Sydney Test is drawn, their final calculations will be over.

However, if the Sydney Test is drawn, then Sri Lanka will have a chance of going to the final. To play in the final, Sri Lanka will have to defeat Australia 2-0 in the series at home. If they can whitewash Australia, the percentage points of the Sri Lankans will be 53.85, Australia's 53.51 and India's 51.75.
The significance of the Sydney Test between Australia and India for going to the final of the championship has increased manifold. Based on the results of this test, the second finalist team of the championship will be determined. The final match of the championship will be held at the traditional Lord's Stadium in England from June 11 to 15.