WTC Final 2023: India's Road to World Test Championship Final

India qualified for the second straight Final of the World Test Championship. New Zealand defeated them in the inaugural edition of the Championship. This is the perfect chance for India to finally clinch the trophy. Rohit Sharma will lead team India to the Oval to face Australia scheduled from 7-11th June. In this article, We'll look into India's Road to the WTC Final 2023.

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India finished 2nd in the WTC 2021-23 points table with 127 points while Australia qualified after finishing 1st in the table with 152 points. English batter Joe Root is the top scorer with 1915 runs. On the other side, Aussie spinner Lyon is the top wicket-taker with 83 wickets.

WTC Final 2023: India's Road to Final

India has played six test series & won 4 during this period. The Men in Blue faced England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Australia in the 2021-23 World Test Championship.

India tour of England | 2-2

India traveled to England in August 2021 for a 5-match test series. The Nottingham test ended with a draw. India came strong and won the 2nd Test by a huge margin of 151 runs and got a 1-0 lead over England. England then won the third test and leveled the series by 1-1. Team India once again made the comeback and win the 4th Test by 157 runs. The fifth and final test was postponed due to Covid-19. It was later played in 2022 when England drew the series with a 7-wicket victory.

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India vs New Zealand | 1-0

India and New Zealand played a 2-match Test series during November-December in 2021. The first Test at Kanpur resulted in a draw as New Zealand gave their all to survive in the match. Rachin Ravindra stood tall against the Indian bowlers and batted all day to keep New Zealand alive in the series. The 2nd Test at the Wankhede was a huge disappointment for New Zealand. They lost the match and the series by a massive margin of 372 runs. Mayank Agarwal was named the Player of the Match for his brilliant batting display (150,62) while Ashwin returned as the Player of the Series. New Zealand's Azaz Patel achieved a rare record of scalping 10 wickets in an inning.

India tour of South Africa | 1-2 | The Freedom Trophy

India traveled to South Africa for a 3-match test series at the end of December. In the 1st Test at Centurion, India's brilliant batting display helped them to get the lead in the series. Kl Rahul scored a brilliant century in the first inning and he was named the Player of the Match. The proteas came back strongly and won the remaining two matches at Johannesburg and Cape Town by 7 wickets. Keegan Petersen was named the Player of the Series for his consistent batting display in the series.

India vs Sri Lanka | 2-0

India & Sri Lanka played a 2-match Test series in March 2022. Men in Blue won the series comfortably by 2-0. In the first test at Mohali, Jadeja's all-round performance handed Sri Lanka a huge defeat of 222 runs with an inning left. In the second test match at Bengaluru, Sri Lanka fought back but it wasn't enough to beat the in-form Indian side. They struggled a bit but Shreyas Iyer & Bumrah's performance helped India to make a comeback and won the match by 238 runs. Rishabh Pant was named the Player of the Series for his impressive display with the bat.

India tour of Bangladesh | 2-0

India traveled to Bangladesh for a 2-match test series in the middle of December 2022. In the first test at Chattogram, India dominated from every aspect and defeated Bangladesh by 188 runs. The second Test was no different. India's batting was not up to point but somehow they managed to pull the series off with a 2-0 victory. Pujara was named the Player of the Series for his impressive batting display.

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India vs Australia | 2-1 | Border-Gavaskar Trophy

India faced Australia for the 4-match test series in February 2023. The Men in Blues won the first test match at Nagpur by an inning and a margin of 132 runs. Jadeja picked 5 wickets while Rohit Sharma scored his first century against the Aussies. Ashwin scalped 5 wickets in the second inning and secured the first test match at Nagpur.

In the 2nd Test, India extended the lead by another victory by 6 wickets. Sir Jadeja kept his side ahead of the mighty Aussies with 7 wickets in the second inning. They bowled out Australia for just 113 runs in the second inning which helped them to secure the match at Delhi.

The Aussies stunned India completely in the third test and made a strong comeback in the series. Kuhnemann picked 5 wickets in the first inning to push Australia ahead of India in the match. Lyon did the rest of the job by picking 8 wickets in the second inning. Australia won the third match by 9 wickets and kept their hopes alive for the series.

Khawaja scored 180 runs while Cameron Green scored 114 runs which helped Australia to reach a total of 480 runs. Ashwin picked 6 wickets but it couldn't help India too much. Shubman Gill scored 128 runs to give a great start to India. Virat Kohli then showed his class with a blistering inning of 186 runs. India posted a huge total of 571 runs which was the reason for the match result. The match ended in a draw as India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by 2-1. India qualified for the WTC Final 2023 after securing the series.

World Test Championship (2021-23) Points Table: