India Out of WTC 2025-27 Final Race? Rohit Sharma’s Team Staring at Early Exit After Historic 2-0 Whitewash by South Africa

The series decider in Guwahati will be remembered for all the wrong reasons: India were bowled out for just 140 in their second innings while chasing an improbable 549, handing South Africa a colossal 408-run victory – now officially India’s heaviest defeat in Test history by margin of runs, eclipsing the 337-run loss to Australia in Kolkata 1999-2000.

With this crushing defeat, India have tumbled to 5th position in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 standings with a points percentage of just 48.15%, slipping below arch-rivals Pakistan (50.00%) for the first time in the current cycle.

Updated WTC 2025-27 Points Table (After India vs South Africa 2nd Test)

| Rank | Team  | Played | Won | Lost | Draw | Points | PCT (%) |

| 1    | Australia     | 12     | 8   | 3    | 1    | 101    | 69.44     |

| 2    | South Africa  | 8      | 5   | 2    | 1    | 64     | 66.67     |

| 3    | Sri Lanka     |9      | 5   | 4    | 0    | 60     | 55.56     |

| 4    | Pakistan      |9      | 4   | 4    | 1    | 54     | 50.00     |

| 5    | India         |11     | 5   | 5    | 1    | 62     | 48.15     |

| 6    | New Zealand   |9      | 4   | 5    | 0    | 48     | 44.44     |

| 7    | England       |12     | 5   | 6    | 1    | 57     | 39.58     |

How Grim Is India’s Position Now?

India have played 11 of their 18 scheduled Tests in the 2025-27 WTC cycle and have only 7 matches remaining:

- 2 Tests in New Zealand (away, early 2026)

- 5 home Tests vs Australia (Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2026-27)

To reach the 65–70% mark that has historically been the cut-off for WTC final qualification, India now need a near-miraculous 6 wins and 1 draw (or better) from these 7 games. In simple terms: India can afford to lose only one more Test in the entire cycle – and even that might not be enough if other results go against them.

A series defeat in New Zealand (highly probable given India’s poor away record in SENA countries in recent years) would leave them needing a 5-0 whitewash against Australia at home just to stay alive – a scenario that looks unrealistic given Australia’s dominance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy over the last decade.

What Went Wrong for India?

Spin-friendly pitches backfired spectacularly in both Kolkata and Guwahati, with South African spinners Keshav Maharaj and Aiden Markram running riot. India’s batting collapses – including scores of 201 and 140 in Guwahati – exposed the fragility of India’s middle order outside the familiar faces of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant (who missed the series due to injury). Captain Rohit Sharma’s prolonged poor form with the bat and questionable tactical decisions have also come under severe scrutiny.

South Africa’s Historic Triumph

For the Proteas, this is only their second series win on Indian soil since readmission, the first being the famous 2-0 triumph under Hansie Cronje in 2000. Stand-in captain Temba Bavuma and coach Shukri Conrad have masterminded one of South African cricket’s greatest overseas achievements, propelling their team to 2nd spot in the WTC table with a healthy 66.67% points percentage.

The Road Ahead – Can India Still Make the WTC Final 2027?

Realistically, India’s fate now hinges on:

1. Winning both Tests in New Zealand (something they have never achieved).

2. Beating Australia 4-0 or 5-0 at home.

Anything less, and the three-time finalists (2021, 2023, 2025 runners-up) will be eliminated well before the blockbuster home summer.

As Rohit Sharma admitted in the post-match presentation, “We have dug ourselves into a massive hole. From here, we need to win almost every game. It’s going to be tough, but we have to fight.”

For millions of Indian fans, the dream of seeing their team finally lift the Test mace at Lord’s in June 2027 suddenly feels farther away than ever.