South Africa seal WTC 2025 final spot! India’s path to qualification revealed

South Africa National Cricket Team have become the first team to book a spot in the final of the ICC World Test Championship 2025, which will be played at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground in London in June next year.

After South Africa secured a place in the WTC final, the battle is between India National Cricket Team, Australia National Cricket Team, and Sri Lanka National Cricket Team for the second and final spot.

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South Africa beat Pakistan to storm into the WTC final

𝙁𝙄𝙍𝙎𝙏 𝙁𝙄𝙉𝘼𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏 𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙁𝙄𝙍𝙈𝙀𝘿 🇿🇦

South Africa are headed to Lord's for the #WTC25 Final 🤩 #SAvPAK ➡ https://t.co/vWLh4MSQjm pic.twitter.com/sZ5QBnDAYD

— ICC (@ICC) December 29, 2024

The Proteas beat the Shan Masood-led side in the first Test of the two-match series in Centurion, which began on December 26, to storm into the ICC World Test Championship 2025 Final.

It was a terrific display from both teams in the first Test and after an intense fight, it were the hosts who managed to clinch a 2-wicket win. South Africa bundled out Pakistan for 211 in the first innings and posted 301 runs on the board in response.

Then, in the second innings, the visitors showcased some fight and ended up with a score of 237 runs, setting up a target of 148 runs for the Proteas.

In the run-chase, the Proteas crumbled as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 99/8. The wrecker-in-chief behind the sudden dominance of Pakistan was pacer Mohammad Abbas, who bagged 6 wickets.

Meanwhile, South Africa didn't lose any more wickets as Kagiso Rabada (31) and Marco Jansen (16) showcased a batting masterclass and steered their side to an epic.

Notably, the Proteas started off the ongoing cycle of WTC with a drawn series at home against India and followed it up with a clean sweep at the hands of New Zealand. However, they bounced back with wins against West Indies, Bangladesh, and Pakistan to seal a spot in the final, barring any point deductions owing to the slow-over rate.

We weren't given much of a chance - Temba Bavuma emotional after SA qualified for the WTC final

Speaking after South Africa became the first team to clinch a spot in the ICC World Test Championship final, the skipper Temba Bavuma was quite emotional and said:

"Quite an emotional moment for me. Lot of joy and happiness on our side. We did the hard way. But glad we won. I was still sulking. Aiden get them going.

"Wasn't a lot of conversations. We still had the confidence. I didn't come out to the viewing area and was in the toilet. I came when 15 runs were needed. It is a big win. Not just for myself. But for the coaches."

Temba Bavuma added that South Africa weren't given a chance by many but they kept finding the way and eventually made it to the final. He said:

"The way we started our campaign against India. We weren't given much of a chance. We weren't ruthless. But we kept finding ways. We hope the guys can get confidence from performances like these. Guys get picked on when they do badly. We would like to enjoy the moment and take stock of what we have done."

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How can India secure the second spot in the final?

Currently, in the ICC World Test Championship Points table, South Africa occupy the first position with a PCT of 66.67. Australia and India - the next favorites to qualify - are in the second and third spots with a PCT of 58.89 and 55.88.

The Rohit Sharma-led side are now under tremendous pressure to perform well in the ongoing Boxing Day Test and then in the Sydney Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 to qualify for the final.

India's ongoing match and the Sydney Test against Australia are the final two games for them in the ongoing cycle while the Aussies have two more matches against Sri Lanka after the conclusion of BGT.

Rohit Sharma's India need to win the remainder of the matches to qualify for the WTC final without depending on other results, and if they lose both, it will be curtains for them.

However, if they draw any one of the Tests and win the other, they will need Australia to either face one loss against Sri Lanka in their upcoming series or win by no more than a 1-0 margin.

In case, the Melbourne and Sydney Tests finish in a draw, India would need Australia to lose 1-0 in Sri Lanka or draw 0-0. Meanwhile, the Lankan Lions can also make it to the final if they beat Australia 2-0.