South Africa on Sunday (December 29) booked a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, set to be played at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground in June 2025.
The Proteas qualified for the summit clash by beating Pakistan in the first Test of the two-match series at the Supersport Park, Centurion.
Chasing 148, the Temba Bavuma-led side was in a spot of bother after being reduced to 99/8. However, Kagiso Rabada (31*) and Marco Jansen (16*) ensured that the hosts go past the finishing line with two wickets in hand.
With this victory, South Africa solidified their position in the WTC standings, remaining top with 66.67 percentage points accumulated after seven wins from 11 Tests. One of Australia or India will be their opponents in the third WTC final.
South Africa’s win has put India and Australia under more pressure. The two teams are currently locking horns in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and can’t put a foot wrong if they want to secure a berth in the WTC final.
As of today, Australia are holding the second spot in the WTC standings with 58.89 percentage points while India are placed at the third slot with 55.88 percentage points.
The Rohit Sharma-led side has only one game left after the ongoing Melbourne Test. On the other hand, the reigning WTC champions will have three matches left – Sydney Test against India and two against Sri Lanka at home.
Meanwhile, cricket fraternity congratulated the South African cricket team for making it to the WTC final for the first time.
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