India completed an absolute annihilation job of England's blistering Bazballers as they won the five-match Test series with a 4-1 scoreline.
The result at the end of the series looks even more impressive when you consider the fact that India lost the series opener in Hyderabad and had to make do without key figures like Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul.
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The innings win registered in Dharamsala in the final Test helped India reclaim their top spot in the ICC Men's Test Team Ranking, while also further strengthening their hold over the top spot in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 points table.
With that in mind, The Sporting News takes a look at how many Tests India need to win from here on if they are to make it to their third consecutive WTC final.
MORE: How many Tests have India won in their entire history?
How many wins do India need to make it to their third consecutive WTC final?
India are set to play 10 more Tests in the current cycle of WTC: two at home vs Bangladesh, three at home vs New Zealand, and five away from home vs Australia.
India have six wins, one draw, and two losses in the ongoing cycle, which has seen them strengthen their grip at the top spot in the ICC WTC 2023-25 points table with a 68.52% point percentage.
Now, India only need five more wins realistically to seal one of the two berths in the ICC WTC 2023-25 final.
| Team | Tests remaining | Wins needed | Opponents |
| India | 10 | 5 | Bangladesh (2 Tests, H) New Zealand (3 Tests, H) Australia (5 Tests, A) |
Scenarios for every team in the race to qualify for WTC final
- Australia need to win 4 Tests out of their remaining 7.
- South Africa need to win 7 Tests out of their remaining 8.
- New Zealand need to win 6 Tests out of their remaining 8.
- Pakistan need to win 7 Tests out of their remaining 9.
- West Indies need to win 7 Tests out of their remaining 9.
- England need to win all their remaining Tests (12 out of 12).
- Bangladesh need to win 7 Tests out of their remaining 10.
- Sri Lanka need to win 8 Tests out of their remaining 11.
| Team | Tests remaining | Wins needed | Opponents |
| Australia | 7 | 4 | India (5 Tests, H) Sri Lanka (2 Tests, A) |
| South Africa | 8 | 7 | West Indies (2 Tests, A) Bangladesh (2 Tests, A) Sri Lanka (2 Tests, H) Pakistan (2 Tests, H) |
| New Zealand | 8 | 6 | Sri Lanka (2 Tests, A) India (3 Tests, A) England (3 Tests, H) |
| Pakistan | 9 | 7 | Bangladesh (2 Tests, H) England (3 Tests, H) South Africa (2 Tests, A) West Indies (2 Tests, H) |
| West Indies | 9 | 7 | England (3 Tests, A) South Africa (2 Tests, H) Bangladesh (2 Tests, H) Pakistan (2 Tests, A) |
| England | 12 | 12 | West Indies (3 Tests, H) Pakistan (3 Tests, A) New Zealand (3 Tests, A) Sri Lanka (3 Tests, H) |
| Bangladesh | 10 | 7 | Sri Lanka (2 Tests, H) West Indies (2 Tests, A) Pakistan (2 Tests, A) South Africa (2 Tests, H) India (2 Tests, A) |
| Sri Lanka | 11 | 8 | Bangladesh (2 Tests, A) England (3 Tests, A) New Zealand (2 Tests, H) South Africa (2 Tests, A) Australia (2 Tests, H) |
ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 points table
This table has been up-to-date following New Zealand's loss to Australia in Christchurch and India's win over England in Dharamsala.
| Pos. | Team | M | W | L | D | Pts. | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 74 | 68.52 |
| 2 | Australia | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 90 | 62.50 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 50.00 |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 50.00 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 36.66 |
| 6 | West Indies | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 33.33 |
| 7 | South Africa | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 25.00 |
| 8 | England | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 21 | 17.50 |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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