South Africa pulled off a stunning two-wicket win over Pakistan in the first Test in Centurion on December 29. With this South Africa have become the first team to cruise into World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-2025 final which is scheduled to take place at Lord's, London, from June 11 to 15.
South Africa storm into WTC final with win over Pakistan in 1st Test
Pakistan had set an easy target of 148 runs for South Africa. However, South Africa made the lowly target look tough after suffering early setbacks, losing three wickets by the end of Day 3, leaving them at 27/3.
On Day 4, Pakistan continued to exert pressure, reducing South Africa to a precarious 99/8. However, a crucial partnership between Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen proved to be the turning point, ultimately securing South Africa's victory and their place in the World Test Championship final. Proteas' win in series opener has made India's WTC final chances slim.
However, it has intensified the competition between India and Australia. With South Africa securing their spot, the remaining berth in the final is now a two-horse race between India and Australia, who are currently engaged in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-2025. The outcome of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will play a crucial role in determining which team joins South Africa in the final. India recently suffered a clean sweep at the hands of New Zealand on home soil and then lost the day-night Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval which has impacted their position in the WTC standings.
This is how the updated WTC 2023-2025 points table looks like:
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Draw | Points | PCT |
| South Africa (Q) | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 88 | 66.67 |
| Australia | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 106 | 58.89 |
| India | 17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 114 | 55.89 |
| New Zealand | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 81 | 48.21 |
| Sri Lanka | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 60 | 45.45 |
| England | 22 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 114 | 43.18 |
| Bangladesh | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 45 | 31.25 |
| Pakistan | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 30.30 |
| West Indies | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 24.24 |
How the South Africa vs Pakistan's first Test unfolded?
Coming back to the match, resuming their innings from a precarious overnight score of 27/3, South Africa suffered an early blow with the dismissal of Aiden Markram. Captain Temba Bavuma contributed 40 runs before falling victim to Mohammad Abbas, rekindling Pakistan's hopes of a surprise victory.
However, a gritty lower-order partnership between Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada dashed those hopes. Jansen remained unbeaten on 16, while Rabada provided crucial support with an unbeaten 31. This partnership proved instrumental in securing South Africa's victory, building upon Jansen's impressive six-wicket haul on the previous day. However, Mohammad Abbas did wreak havoc on South African batters with a sizzling 6/54 but to only see Pakistan end up on a losing side.On the third day, South Africa had stumbled to 27/3, with the Pakistan seamers threatening a potential upset. Mohammad Abbas, making his Test comeback after a three-year hiatus, trapped Tony de Zorzi (2) and Tristan Stubbs (1) lbw. Later, Khurram Shahzad successfully convinced captain Shan Masood to review a decision, resulting in the dismissal of Ryan Rickelton for a duck. Markram (37) was the first wicket to fall on Day 4. But Temba Bavuma's dismissal sort of triggered South Africa's batting collapse and an easy target suddenly started appearing tough for the hosts. Naseem Shah (1/34) then hunted down Kyle Verreynne (2) to leave South Africa reeling at 99/6. Bedingham and Corbin Bosch too returned to the hut leaving the onus on Jansen (16) and Kagiso Rabada (31). The duo didn't disappoint, especially Rabada who kept on charging Pakistan till South Africa achieved the target.