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The Indian cricket team will be looking to book its slot in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final as they start their five-match Test series against Australia. India's dreams were dealt a massive blow as they slumped to a 0-3 series loss against New Zealand at home. However, with five matches against Australia in the next couple of months, India have a massive opportunity to reach the WTC Final for the third consecutive time. Here's a look at the scenarios where India can book their WTC Final berth -
A 4-0 or 5-0 win for India in the five-match Test series will guarantee a spot in the WTC Final but if they lose even a single match, their fate will be dependent on the other results.
If India win 4-1, they will need England to draw at least one Test match against New Zealand or Sri Lanka/Pakistan to draw a match against South Africa.
If India win 3-2, India will need England to beat New Zealand in one Test, Sri Lanka to beat Australia in at least one Test match and South Africa to lose two out of their four games against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
If the series is tied 2-2, the situation gets more complicated. New Zealand will have to lose one Test against England and Sri Lanka will have to lose one Test match against South Africa. However, for India to reach the WTC Final, Australia will have to loss both of their encounters against Sri Lanka.
If India narrowly wins the series against Australia 2-1, they will reach the WTC Final if New Zealand draw one match and lose one against England. Coming to Sri Lanka, if they lose both games against South Africa and win both games against Australia, it will be the best possible scenario for India.
However, if India wins only one Test in the series against Australia, their WTC Final dreams will be over.