Persistent and determined India prevailed in a thrilling fifth Test match of the series against England to draw level 2-2 at the Oval on Monday (August 4) to walk out of the assignment with 28 points in the World Test Championship (WTC).
India needed four wickets and England, 35 runs. With a pure batter in Jamie Smith in the middle and having taken the heavy roller, England would have fancied their chance to knock those 35 runs off, but under overcast skies, with ball moving all over the place and two bowlers with their tails up, the hosts fell short by just six runs.
India earned 12 points from the match and jumped to No.3 on the WTC points table, with a points percentage (PCT) of 46.67. This was the first assignment in the new WTC cycle for both teams, and after not making the final in the previous cycle, the two-time finalists with a young team have started well and would want to get on a run in the remaining assignments of the two-year cycle.
WTC Points Table after India vs England Series 2025
India moved up to the third spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings after registering a thrilling six-run win over England in the fifth Test at the Oval in London on Monday August 04 , 2025.
The win allowed India to draw the five-match series 2-2 and get its WTC 2025-27 campaign off to a positive start. Meanwhile, England slipped to the fourth spot in the standings after the defeat at The Oval, and it will rue the two points it lost for maintaining a slow over-rate in the Test at Lord’s.
Australia leads the WTC 2025-27 standings after it started off its campaign with a 3-0 whitewash of West Indies. Sri Lanka, which won its home series against Bangladesh 1-0, is second on the table. Bangladesh and the West Indies are winless so far in the current WTC cycle, while New Zealand, Pakistan, and defending champion South Africa are yet to kick-off their campaigns.
Here’s the updated WTC points table after IND vs ENG Series
| Rank | Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draw | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 100 |
| 2. | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 66.66 |
| 3. | India | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 46.66 |
| 4. | England | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 43.33 |
| 5. | Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 16.67 |
| 6. | West Indies | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7. | New Zealand | Yet to play | |||||
| 8. | Pakistan | Yet to play | |||||
| 9. | South Africa | Yet to play |
Now, how realistic do India’s chances look’ After a 2-2 draw, quite possible!
What do India need to do to qualify for WTC 2025-27 Finals
India are playing 18 matches in the 2025-27 cycle and to be sure of a qualification, without depending upon other results, the team would have to win at least 11 matches, if not more. India have won a couple of games in England already and drew one in Manchester, with five matches out of the picture. Now, out of the remaining 13 matches, India will have to win at least nine matches or eight wins and a draw would also do.
11 wins and a draw (already secured) would mean 136 points for India out of 216 played, which would give a PCT of 62.96 for the visitors. A PCT of anything above 60 should be good enough for a team to qualify for the final. In the 2023-25 cycle, South Africa (69.44) and Australia (67.54) were the only two teams with a PCT in excess of 60 and played the final at Lord’s in the second week of June.
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra is of the opinion that Shubman Gill and his Co. with a successful tour vs England have a slight easy path enroute WTC finals but for that they have to plan their proceedings more cautiously.
Aakash Chopra firmly believes that India’s path to WTC 2025-27 Finals would be decided on smooth functioning of the team
India, under a young new captain Shubman Gill started their World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle on a strong note after drawing a tough five-match Test series against England away from home 2-2. The two crucial wins at Edgbaston and The Oval gave India valuable points in the WTC standings as they stand third (one spot ahead of England) after the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
India gained 28 points from two wins and a draw, thus standing with 46.67 PCT after their first series of the new cycle. India reached the finals of WTC for its first two iterations, where they lost to New Zealand in the 2019-21 finals and before being handed a loss by Australia in the 2021-23 finals. For the 2023-25 cycle, South Africa and Australia reached the summit clash, where the Proteas ended their 27-year drought for an ICC trophy by beating the Aussies.
Former Indian cricketer now commentator, Aakash Chopra has opined that Shubman Gill and Co. should be in the running to qualify for the Finals of ICC World Test Championship(2025-27 ) . However, he acknowledged that one cannot be too bullish about India’s chances as they are going through the transition.
Indian Team earned 12 points from the match and jumped to No.3 on the WTC points table, with a points percentage (PCT) of 46.67. They won 2 matches a piece and secured a draw at Manchester. In a video shared on his Youtube channel, Aakash Chopra stated that one cant be too confident about Indian Team’s chance of reaching the WTC finals, but also reckoned that they would be the strong contenders.
“India’s home series are against Australia, the West Indies and South Africa. I feel we will win all three of these series. We will win against the West Indies and South Africa, although it might not be that straightforward as we are also going through a transition, and beat Australia as well,” Chopra said
“One of our away series is against Sri Lanka. I am expecting us to garner a lot of points there. New Zealand is tough. I think we should be okay. We will once again be in the running. We will be in the top three or four. Of course, since we are going through a transition, you cannot bullishly say that India would qualify for sure, but I consider India to be a strong contender,” he added.
Aakash Chopra opined that Indian team’s chances are better than Australia adding that the drawn series in England has raised the expectations and significantly improved Indian teams’s chances.
Shubman Gill and Co. are scheduled to play four two-match series from October 2025 to January 2027, before taking on the mighty Australians in a home series in February-March 2027. Shubman Gill and Co. will host the West Indies and South Africa for two-match series each in October and November, respectively, later this year. After which, Shubman Gill and Co are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka and New Zealand in the second half of next year for two games each to wind up their overseas assignments of the cycle.
Also Read: ENG vs IND : Shubman Gill Appointed Test Skipper For Red Ball