ICC World Test Championship points table (updated) as on January 5 after IND vs AUS 2024-25 BGT 5th Test

Australia will face South Africa in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final in June 2025, in a bid to defend their title. The Men in Yellow confirmed their berth after completing a six-wicket win over India in the fifth Test in Sydney to win the Border-Gavaskar series by a 3-1 margin.

The Proteas had already qualified for the finals after a two-wicket win over Pakistan in the Boxing Day Test in Centurion.

The Men in Blue needed at least a 3-1 result in their favor to automatically qualify for the WTC Final. A drawn series would have taken the affair into Australia's tour of Sri Lanka, but a comprehensive series loss means that India failed to qualify for the final for the very first time.

Ahead of the fifth Test, India had a win percentage of 52.78 and needed a win to stay in contention for the finals. A triumph in Sydney would have taken the figure to 55.26, keeping India in contention for the finals, based on how Australia fared in their tour of Sri Lanka.

While India never had fate in their own hands after slipping in the Border-Gavaskar series, there is no scenario now where they can qualify for the finals. The six-wicket loss has resulted in their win percentage dropping to 50, meaning they cannot finish in the top two.

Australia's win percentage, which read 61.46, boosted to 63.73, ensuring them a place in the top two, joining South Africa in the WTC Final. Now, even if Australia are whitewashed in Sri Lanka, it will not affect their place in the title clash in June at Lord's.

A 0-2 result in the island nation will cause Australia's win percentage to drop to 57, but it'll be higher than what India and Sri Lanka will end up with after their cycle concludes.

Australia win a Test series over India for the first time in 10 years

India had to overly rely on a positive outcome from the Border-Gavaskar series to qualify for the WTC Final after their 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home.

After a string of series wins over the Men in Yellow, which includes back-to-back wins on Australian soil, India have finally tasted defeat. The last time Australia had defeated the heavyweights in a red-ball series was during the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar series at home.