"The qualification scenario is now looking a little dicey" - Aakash Chopra on India's WTC final qualification chances after loss in IND vs NZ 2nd Test
Aakash Chopra reckons India have an arduous task ahead to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. He opined that winning the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be a tough proposition for the visitors.
India suffered a 113-run defeat in the second Test against New Zealand in Pune on Saturday, October 26. They are 2-0 down in the three-match series and might have to win the final Test and the upcoming five-match series in Australia to book a berth in their third consecutive WTC final.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener termed Rohit Sharma and Co.'s WTC qualification scenario a 'herculean task'.
"The pressing question is what is the WTC qualification scenario because we were on a mission domination. We thought we would win all five (home Tests) and go ahead with 100 percent points. The scenario now is that you have to win four of the remaining six matches and draw one, and that is a herculean task," he said (1:00).
"Believe it or not, I feel the upcoming BGT (Border-Gavaskar Trophy) is going to be very difficult. We have not lost for 10 years but winning this Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be extremely tough. So the qualification scenario is now looking a little dicey, especially when you see South Africa's home matches. That is the big one," Chopra added.
South Africa, who have already won the first Test in Bangladesh, have one more game against the Bangla Tigers and two Tests apiece against Sri Lanka and Pakistan at home as their remaining fixtures in the current WTC cycle. They will seal their berth in the final if they win all their remaining five games, with the winner of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy potentially facing them in the summit clash.
"The drawn game in the West Indies hurt us" - Aakash Chopra on where things went awry for India
![India could only draw the second Test against the West Indies last year in a rain-affected game. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/10/81a8a-17299998286616-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that the drawn second Test in the away tour of the West Indies compromised India's chances.
"In this WTC cycle, the drawn game in the West Indies hurt us. You could have got 100 percent points there but you got only four points for that drawn game. So you got only 16 points (for the series) although there were 24 points to achieve. You lost points there," he said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the possibility of getting at most 33.33% points in the three-match series against New Zealand has hurt India badly.
"After that, 1-1 in South Africa, I thought that was a good result. When you play a five-match series against England, even if you lose one Test, you move ahead with 80 percent points. Of course, you lose points for slow over rate as well. Here you thought you would win all three matches and get 100 percent points, and you would be through but that's not the case. Now you have only 33% points to gain because New Zealand have already won two matches," Chopra observed.
With 62.82 percent points, India are still perched atop the WTC points table. However, they are now only 0.32 percent points ahead of Australia, with the Aussies, South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand apart from the two-time runners-up still in contention for the two available spots for the WTC final.