WTC win can be South Africa's eureka moment like India's 1983 triumph: Sanjay Bangar
Former India cricketer and batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels the World Test Championship (WTC) title could well be South Africa's eureka moment, like India's 1983 World Cup triumph. South Africa are set to take on Australia in the WTC 2025 final in what will be the 'Ultimate Test' of the longest format with the winner holding the coveted mace for the next two years.advertisementAs the contenders lock horns with the champions Australia, Sanjay Bangar opened up on the possible impact of victory on South Africa cricket, should they come out on top of Australia in the encounter. The former all-rounder mentioned that since this is the year of several teams winning their first major titles across sports, South Africa's victory could go a long way towards the relevance and importance of WTC.'This is a year of underdogs, and it could be a very good story for the relevance and the importance of the World Test Championship. And also because what happens is that if you have a big win as a country, then that has the potential to galvanise the cricketing fraternity in that particular nation. So if that has to happen, it will be fantastic for the growth of South Africa,' JioStar expert Sanjay Bangar said while replying to a query from India Today on the eve of the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025.advertisement
Bangar also stated that the WTC win could be the eureka moment for the Proteas, just like India's ODI World Cup 1983 triumph.'They are a very proud sporting nation, and so far, the glory has, somehow, slipped away from them on critical occasions. But if these bunch of South African players can do that, then it will inspire a generation of young South African players, and there won't be any dearth of talent. What they may require is a little bit of a eureka moment, which was the fact for India in 1983 that 'yes we can go out and do very well on the world stage. So that is the significance from the South African point of view,'' he added.No weak links in Australia: Sanjay BangarFurthermore, Bangar also delved deep into the Australian squad's strength and mentioned that they don't have any weak links which South Africa can exploit as all the players have won several titles.'As far as the weak links are concerned, I don't see any weak links in Australia, very honestly, because they have some experienced batters, they have an experienced bowling attack. They also have depth in the batting lineup because even Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, can contribute with the bat. So it's going to be hard work, but cricket is not played on reputation. Players from both teams will have, two chances in those two innings to be the performer. So let's hope and see that if South Africa can do that, that'll be brilliant for South African cricket,' Bangar concluded.advertisementSouth Africa's only ICC title came way back in 1998 when they were crowned winners of the inaugural edition of the ICC Champions Trophy in Bangladesh. Hence, Temba Bavuma and his men have a massive task at hand to end the agony of the last 27 years, where they came agonisingly close to lifting an ICC title time and again.It will be a herculean task for the Proteas to snatch the WTC mace from Australia's grasp in the ultimate Test. However, a win in the Ultimate Test can go a long way in scripting a glorious chapter in South Africa's cricket history, which could well be the beginning of a golden chapter in their cricketing folklore.
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