Gambhir and Rohit facing challenges as WTC final hopes diminish following New Zealand's victory at Chinnaswamy

India may have suffered a loss in their recent match, but they maintain their position at the top of the WTC points table. With eight wins in 12 matches, their PCT stands at 68.05, a slight decrease from their previous figure of 74.24.

Heading into the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand, India needed to script another whitewash to assure themselves a ticket to the WTC final for the third time in a row. A 3-0 winning margin in the home contest would have left India without a worry in the all-important Border-Gavaskar series in Australia, which will begin next month in Perth.

However, a loss against New Zealand left India in a precarious spot as they not only need to bounce back in the ongoing series to script a 2-1 win, but also will need to avoid more than one loss in the Australia Test series. In a nutshell, for India to now guarantee themselves qualification to the WTC final, regardless of other results, they need at least four wins and two draws (56 points) in their remaining seven Tests, to have a PCT of 67.54.

After dismissing India for their worst home total of 46 and making 402 in reply, New Zealand bowled out Rohit's side for 462 in the second innings on Saturday to lay the platform for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

In response to the 107-run target, New Zealand batters were left clueless under the gloomy Bengaluru sky on Sunday, before Jasprit Bumrah snared two quick wickets to instill some belief of a miraculous escape. But Rachin Ravindra and Will Young remained calm under pressure to get the job done, earning New Zealand only their third win on Indian soil in 38 attempts, going back to 1955.