South Africa held their nerves to defeat Pakistan in the first Test of their two-match series to register a famous win at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen put up a valiant show to help the Proteas chase down 148 in the Centurion Test to take them into the finals of the World Test Championship 2023-25. South Africa have now become the first team to reach into the WTC final that will be played at Lord's next year.
South Africa were handed a target of 148 in the opening Test against Pakistan. They were tested hard by the Pakistan bowlers with Mohammad Abbas taking six wickets from the eight that fell in South Africa's innings. However, Rabada and Jansen notched up an unbeaten stand of 51 for the ninth wicket and took the team home when the latter hit a four off Abbas in the 40th over.
Here is how the latest WTC 2023-25 points table look after South Africa qualified for the final.
| Rank | Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draw | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | South Africa | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 88 | 66.67 |
| 2. | Australia | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 106 | 58.88 |
| 3. | India | 17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 114 | 55.88 |
| 4. | New Zealand | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 81 | 48.21 |
| 5. | Sri Lanka | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 60 | 45.45 |
| 6. | England | 22 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 69 | 44.23 |
| 7. | Bangladesh | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 45 | 31.25 |
| 8. | Pakistan | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 30.30 |
| 9. | West Indies | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 24.24
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The result has put an impact on the WTC scenario with only one spot remaining now. Three teams - India, Australia and Sri Lanka - are still in contention for the final but would now have only one spot to fight for.
India already need to win the Border-Gavaskar trophy by 3-1 to assure themselves of a place in the WTC final. They still need a 3-1 victory to remain independent of other results.
If they win the BGT 2-1 (one game ending in a draw), they would need help from Sri Lanka, who have a two-match series against Australia in late January and early February next year. If India win the BGT 2-1, Sri Lanka must not lose both the Tests against the Aussies. A 1-0 win for Australia will do it for India in this case.
If India level the BGT 2-2, they would need Sri Lanka to beat Australia in at least one Test in the series.
If India level the BGT 1-1, Sri Lanka must win by 1-0 or the series should end in 0-0 draw.
If India lose the BGT, they are out of qualification.
