Despite the impressive record that the WTC finalists are in possession of, Bangar doesn't believe the Proteas or the Baggy Greens will receive an edge over the other in the Ultimate Test, which is scheduled to kick off on Wednesday.
Australia, who won the preceding T20 series between the sides, lost opener Travis Head and number three Marnus Labuschagne inside four overs.
Abhimanyu Easwaran made the future path all the more tough with his second duck of the match, while Sai Sudharsan concluded his lukewarm preparation for the South Africa Test series with an underwhelming 23 off 38 balls.
Kuldeep slips to third in ODI rankings, Maharaj regains top spot
Teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius scored 153 on debut and Corbin Bosch an unbeaten maiden century as a much-changed South Africa reached 418 for nine on the opening day of the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on Saturday.
South Africa won their T20 series against world champions West Indies and Ireland, and will once again be captained by Temba Bavuma in both formats.
Rishabh Pant's return to competitive cricket after a three-month injury-enforced hiatus will be the primary focal point of India A's four-day match against South Africa A.
'I don't know what the maths looks like but we're playing good cricket and we want it to continue.'
Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green smashed blistering hundreds as Australia steamrollered South Africa by 276 runs in the third and final One-Day International.
From Royal Challengers Bengaluru's historic first IPL title to star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finally breaking the iconic 90-meter mark to India women winning their first cricket World Cup, this was the year of long-awaited victories and record-breaking feats.
Debutants Afghanistan will aim to continue their impressive rise in white-ball cricket, while South Africa will once again attempt to shed the 'chokers' tag when the two sides kick-off their Champions Trophy campaign in Karachi on Friday.
Dhruv Jurel made a strong case for his continued presence in the senior Test eleven with his second hundred in as many innings against South Africa A while fortifying India A's position on the third day of the four-day match in Bengaluru on Saturday.
IMAGES from the Champions Trophy second Semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa played at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Wednesday
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis walked for the toss along with Temba Bavuma as the proxy captain, who was given the responsibility of calling the toss.
They have looked more comfortable setting targets than chasing one though, and they will expect more penetration from their bowlers against a resurgent Australia.
Sri Lanka used the seamer friendly conditions at Kingsmead to reduce South Africa to 80/4 before rain stopped play on the opening day of the first Test
India started well as opener Shikhar Dhawan scored 79 from 84 balls and former captain Virat Kohli 51 from 63, but when they were dismissed the touring side struggled to keep up with the required run-rate and finished on 265 for eight.
South Africa will look to fix their chasing troubles before the semifinals while Afghanistan will back themselves to beat another top team
Afghanistan earned a first-ever One Day International victory over a depleted South Africa when they romped to a comfortable six-wicket triumph in the first game of the three-match series in Sharjah on Wednesday.
South Africa insist they are confident of chasing down a tough target to win the World Test Championship at Lord's even if the contest against Australia has been dominated by the bowlers.
'The last time we were here, we were tested and challenged in all departments of our game and I think we replied to it quite well. So I expect a good, strong and competitive series.'
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma wanted a clinical performance from his bowlers after posting the highest total in World Cup history of 428/5 against Sri Lanka in their tournament-opener, adding that he was satisfied with individual achievements of his players.
The chinks in India's pace bowling armour were badly exposed in the three-match T20s against Australia.
New Zealand and South Africa, both laden with world-class talent but often falling short in ICC tournaments, will face off in a tightly contested Champions Trophy semifinal.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes South Africa has a slight edge over New Zealand in their Champions Trophy semifinal clash.
India, South Africa pretty close on bowling, batters will face big test in getting runs: Amla
Quinton de Kock has reversed his retirement from ODI cricket and has been named in both the ODI and T20I squads for the Pakistan tour.
South Africa ended 27 years of hurt by beating Australia at Lord's to win the ICC World Test Championship 2025.
The second One Day International between India and South Africa will be played at Paarl starting 1400 IST this afternoon.
Virat Kohli has two hundreds and a fifty in his last three innings, while Rohit Sharma has a hundred and two fifties in his last four outings.
South African pacer Kagiso Rabada and Test captain Temba Bavuma, who are not part of the Proteas white-ball cricket mix to gear up for the Test series against India, won't feature in domestic cricket.
'Hard one to swallow for the guys. We had the confidence and the belief to get to the knockouts. You can pick out a lot of things when you lose that way.'
Captain Temba Bavuma hailed what he termed South Africa's brave decision to bat first in their comprehensive 107-run Champions Trophy win over Afghanistan on Friday
Australia will have to dust off the cobwebs but are still fancied to successfully defend their World Test Championship crown against equally ring-rusty South Africa in the final at Lord's.
The bowling stocks looks good, but the major concern will be around the batting line-up, which struggled on the recent tour of England.
He had cleared the first round of testing along with the rest of the South African squad last week after arriving in New Delhi on June 2.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 2nd Test played at the Wanderers on Thursday.
There was much criticism of how South Africa managed to reach the final without playing either Australia and England in the two-year qualifying period.
'I think it's an ongoing process, just continuously putting in hours of work and speaking to people that have played in these conditions, have done well in these conditions.'
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen on Saturday rated Protea opener Aiden Markram's measured hundred against Australia in the World Test Championship final as the "best innings" by a South African batter in Test matches.
