The India national cricket team faces a huge challenge to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2027 final to be held at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London in June 2027. Under the leadership of Shubman Gill, India now has only a two percent chance of reaching the upcoming title match.
The race for qualification changed significantly after England’s 115-run win over New Zealand in the first Test at Lord’s on Sunday. Notably, the match was affected by weather interruptions and was played on a challenging pitch, which offered uneven bounce throughout the encounter, where batsmen from both teams struggled.
India faces a tough road for WTC final qualification
WTC Final Probabilities Updated After Lord’s Test
New Zealand’s chances dropped from 15% to 11% after the defeat in the first test.
England’s chances increased from 3% to 5% pic.twitter.com/Cz3VLyxpca
– Krishna Kumar (@KrishnaKRM) June 8, 2026
The Indian cricket team faces a tough road to the World Test Championship final after a mixed start to the 2025-27 cycle. The recent defeats have hurt their chances, leaving Shubman Gill and his team with little margin for error in the remaining matches.
As per the latest WTC standings, India is ranked sixth with a points percentage of 48.15. The team has won four Tests, lost four and drawn one. Australia tops the table, while South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Bangladesh are all ahead of India.
India still have nine Test matches left, including series against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia. To stay in the race for the WTC final, Gill’s team will need to win at least eight of these matches and hope that other results go in their favour.
New Zealand slipped from second to fourth place after the defeat at Lord’s
New Zealand suffered a setback in the race for the World Test Championship after a 115-run defeat to England at Lord’s. The defeat damaged their position in the standings and increased the pressure on the Black Caps ahead of their remaining matches.
According to the latest qualifying projections, New Zealand’s chances of reaching the 2027 World Test Championship final have dropped from 15% to 11%. Currently, their points percentage after four matches is 58.33 and they are in fourth place after Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
New Zealand are still in contention for a place in the finals, but they need strong results in their remaining series. The Black Caps will face India, Sri Lanka, Australia and Pakistan.
England keep WTC hopes alive with crucial win at Lord’s
England boosted their confidence with a hard-fought win over New Zealand at Lord’s. After a disappointing start to their World Test Championship campaign, the hosts battled through difficult conditions to register a crucial win.
After being bowled out for 140 runs in the first innings and then bowling out New Zealand for 113 runs, England made a strong comeback. Emilio Gay scored 57 runs in the second innings to help England score 226 runs and set a challenging target for the visiting team.
The hosts bowled out New Zealand for 138 runs on the fourth day despite Glenn Phillips’ unbeaten 44 runs. Ollie Robinson took five wickets in the first innings, scoring 29 valuable runs and took two more wickets in the second innings.
With this win, England’s chances of reaching the 2027 World Test Championship final increased from 3% to 5%. However, they remain seventh in the standings with a point percentage of 37.88 after winning four of their 11 matches in the current cycle.
