Latest news with #TembaBavuma-led
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Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Business Standard
ICC WTC 2025 Final: South Africa's road to the final vs Australia
Temba Bavuma-led South African cricket team will aim to create history when they take the field against the defending champions Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025, starting Wednesday, June 11, at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, England. While South Africa qualified for the final after finishing at the top of the WTC 2023–25 cycle points table with 69.44 percentage points, their qualification story was nothing short of a Cinderella story. The Proteas had only two wins in hand after their first six matches of the ICC WTC 2023–25 cycle, but they made a dream comeback and went on to win all six of their remaining Tests, not only to qualify for the final but also to become the first team to do so. But how did their entire journey in the ICC WTC 2023–25 cycle pan out? Take a look. South Africa vs India (2023/24): Series drawn 1–1 South Africa launched their WTC journey at home with a marquee clash against India. A dominant win in Centurion was offset by a resilient Indian comeback in Cape Town. The drawn series ensured a steady start for the Proteas, offering crucial WTC points while setting the tone for a fiercely competitive campaign ahead. New Zealand vs South Africa (2023/24): Lost 0–2 West Indies vs South Africa (2024): Series won 1–0 The Proteas returned to winning ways in the Caribbean with a gritty 1–0 series win. A hard-fought first Test win followed by a rain-affected draw helped restore confidence. With contributions across the board, this away triumph proved vital for South Africa's momentum and WTC points accumulation heading into the final year. Bangladesh vs South Africa (2024/25): Series won 2–0 South Africa proved their mettle in Asian conditions with a comprehensive 2–0 win in Bangladesh. Their pace attack adapted brilliantly, while the batters stood firm against spin. The clean sweep not only silenced doubts about their subcontinent credentials but also significantly bolstered their points tally heading into the home stretch. South Africa vs Sri Lanka (2024/25): Series won 2–0 South Africa vs Pakistan (2024/25): Series won 2–0 South Africa wrapped up their WTC campaign in style with another 2–0 home series victory, this time over Pakistan. The Proteas were clinical, showing no signs of complacency. This final flourish ensured they finished atop the WTC standings and entered the Lord's final brimming with belief, rhythm, and championship ambition.
India Today
19 hours ago
- Sport
- India Today
No surprises as South Africa name strong playing XI for WTC Final vs Australia
With the World Test Championship Final between South Africa and Australia set to begin on 11 June at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground in London, the Proteas have unveiled their Temba Bavuma-led playing XI for the high-stakes clash — sticking largely with the core that brought them success in recent Test were no last-minute surprises or experimental changes in the side, as South Africa named a line-up similar to the one that defeated Pakistan in their most recent Test series triumph. This time, the Proteas will be up against Pat Cummins-led Australia, who will be walking into the final with confidence from their Border Gavaskar Trophy triumph against Proteas' top order will be bolstered by in-form skipper Temba Bavuma, alongside Aiden Markram — who will hope to carry over his strong IPL 2025 form into the Test format, where his record has been mixed. Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne, both consistent performers in red-ball cricket, continue to hold their spots. The middle order features Tristan Stubbs and David Bedingham, who have also shown promising contributions with the bat. In the bowling department, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen will spearhead the pace attack, with Lungi Ngidi adding further depth. Keshav Maharaj remains the only full-time spinner in the only change in the Proeteas XI for the WTC Final and that of their last clash against Pakistan came in Ngidi coming back into the mix for Kwena Mphaka, after having missed their previous clashes due to an Proteas have unveiled their XI for the Ultimate TestRead more on the #WTC25 Final ICC (@ICC) June 10, 2025advertisementWTC Final: South Africa Playing XITemba Bavuma (c),Aiden Markram,Ryan Rickelton,Wiaan Mulder,Tristan Stubbs,David Bedingham,Kyle Verrynne,Marco Jansen,Keshav Maharaj,Kagiso Rabada,Lungi NgidiSouth Africa have reached their maiden World Test Championship Final, thanks largely to their dominant performances on home soil throughout the cycle. Under coach Shukri Conrad, the team boasts a formidable bowling attack — one that's expected to thrive with the Dukes ball in English will also be South Africa's second major ICC final in as many years. After suffering a heartbreaking loss to India in the 2024 T20 World Cup final — a game they let slip from a winning position — the Proteas now have another shot at redemption. As they prepare to face Australia at Lord's, they'll be determined to shed their long-standing reputation for faltering on the big Watch
India Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- India Today
South Africa's road to WTC Final: Crucial draw vs India, domination at home
Temba Bavuma-led South Africa have reached the final of the World Test Championship for the first time. The Proteas qualified for the final of the tournament on the back of heavy domination at home in the final months of the South Africa are set to face defending champions Australia, who dominated the competition this season. The pinnacle of their prowess was seen against India, where they hammered the Rohit Sharma-led side 3-1 at home. Australia would have won the 5-match series 4-1, if not for rain in the Brisbane Test we are focusing on South Africa at the moment, and we will recap the series that they have played in this edition of the tournament and check how they qualified for the final of the World Test Championship Africa vs India [1-1, Home] Temba Bavuma's side began their World Test Championship campaign with a two-match home series against India in December 2023. On pitches that were very difficult to bat on, the Proteas flexed their muscle in a convincing victory by an innings and 32 runs in the first Test at Centurion. Retiring Dean Elgar scored a tremendous 185 with the bat, while Kagiso Rabada and Nandre Burger ran through the Indian second Test match, however, was full of controversies, majorly due to the nature of the pitch in Cape Town. This match lasted just one and a half days - 642 balls to be exact. India came back strongly to secure a commanding seven-wicket win as the Proteas witnessed back-to-back batting levelled the series as long-time South Africa batter Elgar confirmed his retirement after an 86-Test Africa vs New Zealand [0-2, Away]South Africa's Test series against New Zealand created major controversy. This is the series where South Africa did not send its main players owing to the SA20 competition. This is the series that raised questions on the survivability of Test cricket as South Africa were ready to let go of the Test Championship to promote their homegrown T20 Neil Brand took the reins and, as expected, lost both matches against the 2021 WTC champions. The Kiwis secured a massive win by 281 runs at Mount Maunganui, followed by a seven-wicket triumph at Hamilton in the second Test, securing their first-ever Test series victory against South first Test at Port of Spain ended in a draw, extending South Africa's winless run in Test matches to second and final match of the series proved to be a tense, low-scoring contest. Chasing 263 runs for victory, West Indies pushed for a result but fell 40 runs short, thanks to a brilliant performance by Keshav Maharaj, handing South Africa a much-needed Africa vs Bangladesh [2-0, Away]advertisementAiden Markram took over as Test captain for the series in the absence of the injured Temba Bavuma. Dewald Brevis was called in as Bavuma's the first Test at Mirpur, South Africa cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket win, largely due to Kyle Verreynne's impressive 114 off 144 deliveries in the first second Test at Chattogram saw an even more dominant South African performance, as they overwhelmed Bangladesh by an innings and 273 runs. Tony de Zorzi's brilliant 177 laid the groundwork, while Kagiso Rabada shone with a five-wicket haul in the first Africa vs Sri Lanka [2-0, Home]With victories over West Indies and Bangladesh, South Africa had an outside chance of reaching the WTC Final 2025. By this time, India had been clean-swept by Australia at home, which meant that they had to do the unthinkable against Pat Cummins' Australia away from Durban, South Africa started strong and secured a convincing 233-run victory in the first Test. Although Sri Lanka showed signs of a fightback in the second Test at Gqeberha, the home side swiftly took control to complete another dominant series Africa vs Pakistan [2-0, Home]South Africa's final assignment of the 2023–25 World Test Championship cycle saw Pakistan visit for a two-Test series in December 2024. By this time, South Africa really believed, as India had shown telltale signs of faltering against Australia by a huge first Test at Centurion was a close affair. Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada's heroics with the bat bailed the hosts out in the final innings of the match. Chasing 148 runs on a spicy wicket, South Africa clinched the match with just 2 wickets in win in the Boxing Day Test ensured that South Africa became the first team to qualify for this year's WTC a seventh consecutive Test win and looking to conclude their campaign in style, the Proteas delivered a commanding performance in Cape Town. Ryan Rickelton enjoyed his finest outing as a red-ball international, scoring an unbeaten 259 off 343 deliveries, while Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreynne also notched centuries in the first efforts powered South Africa to a comprehensive 10-wicket victory, ending their World Test Championship cycle with 100 Jansen was named Player of the Series for his 10 wickets across the two Tests.
Times of Oman
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Times of Oman
South African team arrives in Lahore ahead of ODI tri-series against Pakistan, New Zealand
Lahore: Temba Bavuma-led South Africa team arrived in Lahore on Friday for the upcoming ODI tri-series against New Zealand and Pakistan. Pakistan Cricket took to X and shared a video of the arrival of the Proteas and wrote, "Temba Bavuma-led South Africa team arrives in Lahore for the ODI tri-series." On Wednesday, Rob Walter, South Africa's white-ball coach, named a 12-man squad for the first match of the series, including Gerald Coetzee, who has recovered from an injury setback. Coetzee played his last match for South Africa before the injury setback against Sri Lanka in the first match of a two-match Test series on November 27, 2024. For the opening match of the ODI tri-series, South Africa has several new options to look at, with six uncapped players added to the Bavuma-led side. Meeka-eel Prince, Gideon Peters, Eathan Bosch, and Mihali Mpongwana are all uncapped at the international level so far, while Matthew Breetzke has already featured in Tests and T20Is, and Senuran Muthusamy has played four Tests for the Proteas. The squad will be updated for the remainder of the series following the conclusion of the ongoing SA20 league in South Africa, with players like Keshav Maharaj and Heinrich Klaasen set to be available from the second game of the series. The tri-series will kick off with New Zealand squaring off against Pakistan in the Gadaffi Stadium on February 8. The Kiwis will then face South Africa on February 10 in a day match. After the conclusion of the first two games, the ODI action will move from Rawalpindi to Karachi, with the Men in Green taking on the Proteas on February 12 in a day/night match. The final of the tri-series will be held on February 14 at the same venue, five days before the tournament openerThe tri-series in Pakistan comes as a precursor to the ICC Champions Trophy, which begins February 19. South Africa squad (For the first ODI): Temba Bavuma (capt), Eathan Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Junior Dala, Wiaan Mulder, Mihlali Mpongwana, Senuran Muthusamy, Gideon Peters, Meeka-eel Prince, Jason Smith, Kyle Verreynne.
