India are fourth in the WTC on 51.52 per cent, and their first Test against the leaders is on 19 November
South Africa’s series win over Australia has put New Zealand top of the World Test Championship. India have seven Tests left, and even seven wins would leave them below where the top two are now.
Nov 1, 2026
South Africa won the series in Cape Town on Saturday, and the World Test Championship table changed with it. Australia went into that Test top of the World Test Championship and came out of it third. New Zealand are the new leaders on 72.22 per cent, South Africa are second on 71.43, and Australia have dropped to 69.23. South Africa have also taken the No. 1 Test ranking off them.
India are fourth. They have 68 points from 11 Tests, a percentage of 51.52, and their next two Tests are against the side at the top.
The table after Newlands
New Zealand have played only six Tests in this cycle, winning four, losing one and drawing one, which is 52 points. South Africa have won five of seven. Australia have won nine of 13, but four defeats, two of them in this series, cost them first place.
India were fifth until Saturday. West Indies beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in the first Test in Mirpur, and that dropped Bangladesh to 47.62 per cent, below India. So India moved up a place without playing.
The positions are decided on percentage, not points. A win is worth 12 points, a draw four and a defeat nothing, and each team’s total is measured against the points it has played for. That is why New Zealand can sit top with 52 points while Australia, on 108, are third. The top two at the end of the league stage play the final at The Oval in June 2027.
How India got to 51.52
The cycle started well. India drew 2-2 in England in 2025 and then beat West Indies 2-0 at home. Then South Africa came to India and won both Tests, the second by 408 runs, and that series is the main reason India are where they are. A win and a draw in Sri Lanka in 2026 brought the record to five wins, four defeats and two draws.
Seven Tests left, and the ceiling is 70.37
India have two series left: two Tests in New Zealand this month and five at home against Australia from 21 January 2027. That is 84 points. If India won all seven, they would finish on 152 points from 216, which is 70.37 per cent.
That best case is still below what New Zealand and South Africa have right now. Both have plenty of cricket left and are likely to drop points along the way, so the number is not a verdict. But it shows how little room there is. In my view, a draw in New Zealand would feel like a loss by March.
Wellington, then Christchurch
The first Test is at the Basin Reserve from 19 November and the second at Hagley Oval from 27 November. India lost at both grounds in 2020, by ten wickets in Wellington and by seven in Christchurch, and New Zealand won that series 2-0.
Shubman Gill leads the 16-man squad with KL Rahul as his deputy. Jasprit Bumrah is back in the Test side, Mohammed Shami is not in it, and Rishabh Pant’s place depends on a fitness clearance. Five ODIs come first, from 4 November, so the Test squad will have little time in whites before Wellington.
New Zealand are top and have lost one Test all cycle. India need wins in Wellington and Christchurch, not draws.