India’s chances of making it to the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final have been hurt again—this time by a slow over-rate penalty after the MCG Test against Australia. Even though they played well on the field and held Australia to 173-9, the team may lose points, which could have a big effect on their place in the Championship results.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rules that say teams can be punished if they don’t finish the minimum number of overs in the time allowed. India is likely to be fined because they are behind the minimum over-rate on Day 4 of the MCG Test. Australia’s last two wickets made it hard for India’s bowlers by letting their innings go on longer than planned. This meant that India had to bowl more than 80 overs in Australia’s second innings.
Indian hopes of making it to the WTC 2025 final are in danger because of this over-rate violation. The loss of points could hurt their hopes in the standings, where every point is important for making it to the final. Due to their slow over-rate, India could lose valuable WTC points even though they are already working hard to win this important Test series.
ICC Over-Rate Penalty Rules: Each over costs one point.
Guidelines from the ICC say that teams that don’t meet the minimum rate lose one point in the WTC rankings. India might not have enough time because Australia’s game is taking too long, so this penalty could hurt their chances of qualifying for the WTC 2025.
India was down to 173-9 at one point, but Nathan Lyon (41*) and Scott Boland (10*), Australia’s last two wickets, kept them from scoring for the last 18 overs, bringing their total to 228-9 by the end of Day 4. This partnership not only made Australia’s innings last longer, but it also led to India dealing more than 80 overs, which meant they could get the over-rate punishment.
The 2024–25 Border–Gavaskar Trophy game is tied at 1-1 right now, and both teams are trying to take a key lead. India needs to do well in their next match at the SCG if they want to win the series and keep their chances of making it to the WTC final. With the danger of penalties still alive, every point India loses could hurt their position in the WTC table, which makes the next Test even more important.
England is worried about the over-rate penalty all the time.
As of now, over-rate fines are already giving teams trouble in this WTC run. The biggest punishment has been taken away from England, who are now in sixth place in the results after losing 22 points. There is no better way to remember how expensive slow over-rates can be in the race for the WTC final than this.
The over-rate penalty could hurt Team India’s chances of making it to the WTC 2025, especially since the series is tied and pressure is building on them. To keep their rankings from dropping even more, the team will need to work on both their play on the field and their over-rate. As the series goes on, each point will be important as they try to make it to the WTC final.
