Tough days ahead: How the Colombo Test draw has dented India’s chances for the WTC final

Now India will have to win at least 6 out of the remaining 7 games to have a fair crack but then those two assignments are against New Zealand and Australia.

The second drawn Test in Colombo against Sri Lanka on Thursday has really dented India’s World Test Championship (WTC) hopes. Prior to the Test series, the Indians were kind of in a must-win situation right up to the five-Test series at home against Australia early next year. A two-Test series against New Zealand in November is also part of the WTC cycle. So, in these 9 Tests, including two against Sri Lanka, they needed to win at least 6-7 games to stay in the hunt for the first two places on the table but with the draw in Colombo, all thanks to 25-year-old Sonal Dinusha’s two tons, now India find themselves in a position where their task is massively cut out in their remaining seven games.

Shubman Gill's team is now facing an uphill task. (AFP)

Those assignments are not easy ones either. India’s record in New Zealand is not great, and beating Australia in five successive games anywhere in the world isn't a realistic proposition. Last time when the Aussies had toured India, they had thrown a big scare into the hosts.

So, unless some miracle happens, it’s as good as over for Shubman Gill’s men. To be fair, in the remaining seven games, they should at least win six but in light of the quality of those two oppositions, one wonders how they will accomplish that.

In 11 Tests, India now have five wins, four losses and two draws. They have 68 points with a lowly PCT of 51.52. Had they won in Colombo, they would have moved into the fourth position, displacing Bangladesh but now they are exactly where they had started the series, in fifth position, ahead of Sri Lanka.

“I think the kind of way we have been progressing in the past year has been very pleasing to see from my perspective, and I think we are taking all the right steps in the right direction. Obviously, the main goal is to play the World Test Championship final, which is next year, and we have about nine Tests, and I think we have to win around six or seven to be able to have a good chance at qualifying. So, in terms of that, I think this is a very important series for us, and we have had the right kind of preparation leading up to the series,” Gill said prior to the two-Test series.

If India eventually fail to qualify for the final, the Colombo draw, as well as the two-Test whitewash at home by South Africa last year, should be blamed.