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WTC Qualification: South Africa get closer to spot in final
South Africa’s 2-0 series win against Sri Lanka at home has reduced what was a five-team conquest to what is now effectively a three-way race to the Lord’s finale next June. New Zealand squandered their outside chances thanks to the series whitewash in India following the two defeats to England at home while Australia and India tussle it out in what seems like a knockout clash between the two to take on the hot favourites South Africa. Here’s how it looks for the three teams in contention.
Points table (as on Dec 9, 2024)
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Draw | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 76 | 63.33 |
| Aus | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 102 | 60.71 |
| Ind | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 110 | 57.29 |
| SL | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 60 | 45.45 |
| Eng | 21 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 114 | 45.24 |
| NZ | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 69 | 44.23 |
| Pak | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 33.33 |
| Ban | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 45 | 31.25 |
| WI | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 24.24 |
South Africa
The Proteas turned their WTC campaign on its head with their fifth successive win after having just a solitary win in their first five matches and they currently sit at the top of the table with 63.33%. One win against Pakistan is all they need for a ticket to Lord’s while two wins could see them most likely topping the table. If they lose both Tests to Pakistan, they could most likely miss out as both India and Australia can finish above them, as can Sri Lanka if they beat Australia 2-0. As South Africa play fewer games compared to the other sides in contention, the net effect of a win or a loss affect their PCT much more than other sides.
Australia
Australia were temporarily back to the top of the charts after their thumping ten wicket win in Adelaide but have dropped one place down after South Africa’s win in Gqeberha. Two wins out of the three remaining Tests against India should give them insurance from the nature of the series scoreline in the two Tests Sri Lanka. In the event of Border Gavaskar trophy ending in a 2-2 stalemate, Australia will need at least one Test win in Sri Lanka to finish above India and not depend on South Africa’s results. If Australia lose 2-3 to India, they will need to win both the Tests in Sri Lanka to progress without depending on South Africa’s results.
India
The two-time WTC finalists find themselves in a precarious situation following a run of four defeats in their last five Tests after topping the table for most of the first half of the cycle. For India not to depend on other results, they will need to win at least two and draw the other of their three remaining games in Australia to give them insurance against a 2-0 win for Australia in Sri Lanka. If India wins the Border Gavaskar trophy by a 2-1 margin, Australia can still finish ahead of them if they beat Sri Lanka 2-0 as can South Africa if they win one more Test.
If the scoreline against Australia ends 2-2 and both the Tests between Australia and Sri Lanka end in draws, both India and Australia will be tied on 55.26% with India progressing by virtue of more series wins (three for India to Australia’s two). But if Australia gains anything more than eight points in Sri Lanka (two draws gives eight points), then they will finish ahead of India’s 55.26%. A series defeat by any margin would end India’s hopes of a third consecutive final appearance irrespective of their remaining results.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka chances got severely dented after the series loss in South Africa but can still finish in the top two if the results pan out in the following way:
– Sri Lanka beat Australia 2-0 and end on 53.85%.
AND
– South Africa drop both Tests against Pakistan and finish on 52.78%. Then only one among Australia or India can top Sri Lanka’s tally of 53.85%.
OR
– If South Africa gain at least one draw against Pakistan, they will finish above 55%, then Border Gavaskar trophy ends with a 2-1 win for the hosts and both Australia (53.51%) and India (51.75%) finish below Sri Lanka’s 53.85%
PSL 2025 will resume on May 17, with the final on May 25. While there hasn’t yet been a public decision on the fixture list or venues, the announcement confirms the league will end a week after it was originally scheduled to.
This was announced on X (formerly Twitter) by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. “HBL PSL X picks up from where it left off,” he wrote in the post. “6 teams, 0 fear. Get ready for 8 thrilling matches starting 17th May, leading up to the Grand Final on 25th May. Best of luck to all the teams!”
PCB is expected to announce further details shortly, and though Naqvi’s tweet did not officially confirm it, the remaining matches are expected to be played in Pakistan. The league, which was postponed due to increasing cross-border tensions with India, has eight games left and the PCB, as well as several franchises, have been eager to conclude the season as early as possible.
The PSL held meetings with the franchises on Monday to discuss specific dates and venues. The most pressing issue is the availability of overseas players, with ESPNcricinfo understanding a significant number are unlikely to return. The asymmetry of player availability may also impact squads, with some franchises more confident about overseas players rejoining than others. To mitigate that, PCB has also considered a replacement draft to make up the numbers.
This also confirms that Bangladesh’s tour of Pakistan will not stick to its original schedule. The final of the PSL takes place on the day Bangladesh were to play their first T20I against Pakistan, in Faisalabad. BCB has said it is in active and ongoing discussions about the tour.
(Cricinfo)
While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has yet to officially announce the venues for the final and the first two playoffs – Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator – Cricbuzz understands that the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad has been shortlisted to host Qualifier 2 and the final, scheduled for June 1 and 3 respectively.
The IPL is resuming on May 17 and it will have 17 games post break. Six centres – Mumbai, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Jaipur – will be hosting the games.
IPL 2025 will resume on May 17 and end on June 3, as per the revised schedule announced by the BCCI on Monday night.
The remainder of the tournament, which was suspended on May 9 for a week due to cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, will be played at six venues: Bengaluru, Jaipur, Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The venues for the playoffs will be announced later, but the matches will be played on the following dates: Qualifier 1 on May 29, the Eliminator on May 30, Qualifier 2 on June 1 and the final on June 3. A total of 17 matches will be played after the resumption, with two double-headers, both of which will be played on Sundays.
The revised schedule features 13 league games and the four playoff matches. This means that the Punjab Kings (PBKS) vs Delhi Capitals (DC) game, which was called off midway through the first innings on May 8 in Dharamsala, will be played again, on May 24 in Jaipur, which will be the temporary home base for PBKS. Two days later, PBKS will play against Mumbai Indians (MI), a match they were originally meant to play in their second home base of Dharamsala on May 11. The match that will restart the tournament on May 17 will be played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Bengaluru.
On the first of the two double-header days, Rajasthan Royals (RR) will meet PBKS in the day game (3.30pm IST) on May 18 and DC will take on Gujarat Titans (GT) in the evening (7.30pm IST). The next Sunday – May 25 – will see GT take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the day game in Ahmedabad and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) meet KKR in Delhi at 7.30pm IST. The last league game will be between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and RCB on May 27 in Lucknow.
The change in venues also means that three teams – PBKS, CSK and SRH – won’t get to play on their original home grounds anymore. With CSK and SRH out of the playoffs race, PBKS will count themselves unlucky to be playing two of their home matches at a neutral venue. With 15 points from 11 matches, PBKS were third on the points table before the tournament was suspended.
The official release said the BCCI held “extensive consultations with government and security agencies, and with all the key stakeholders” before finalising the resumption of the tournament.
The delayed finish of the IPL, which was originally scheduled to end on May 25 in Kolkata, means it will now coincide with the entire ODI series between England and West Indies starting on May 29 in Birmingham and ending on June 3 at The Oval. It will lead to a clash for Romario Shepherd (RCB), Shamar Joseph (LSG) and Sherfane Rutherford (GT), who have all been picked in the West Indies ODI squad. England have not named their squad yet but the players likely to be affected are Jos Buttler (GT), Phil Salt (RCB), Jacob Bethell (RCB), Liam Livingston (RCB), Will Jacks (MI) and Reece Topley (MI), depending on which teams make the playoffs.
The revised IPL schedule also squeezes the gap between the IPL final and the WTC final to just seven days, with Australia and South Africa set to contest the Test world title from June 11 at Lord’s. Both Australia and South Africa are scheduled to announce their squads on Tuesday. The players who are currently part of the IPL teams and are likely to be picked for the WTC final are Australia captain Pat Cummins and Travis Head (both SRH), Mitchell Starc and Tristan Stubbs (both DC), Josh Hazlewood (RCB), Marco Jansen and Josh Inglis (both PBKS), Aiden Markram (LSG), Kagiso Rabada (GT), Ryan Rickelton (MI) and Kwena Mphaka (RR).
The revised schedule will also potentially impact the India A tour of England, which is scheduled to begin from May 30, for two unofficial Tests in Canterbury and Northampton. Several fringe India players, some of whom are likely to be part of the India squad for the five-Test series starting on June 20 in England, will now be part of the IPL when the A matches begin.
For now, the biggest challenge for the 10 IPL franchises will be to re-assemble their squads and bring back overseas players and support-staff members who had begun flying back home over the weekend. The team that could find it easiest to get back together will be GT, currently on top of the table, who had seen only two of their overseas players fly back: Buttler and Gerald Coetzee. The rest of their squad was continuing to train in Ahmedabad. MI could also benefit from the revised schedule, as their first game is on May 21, four days after the tournament resumes.
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