Temba Bavuma and his son Lihle celebrated with the ICC Test Championship Mace, marking South Africa's most memorable cricketing moment.
K L Rahul is set for a lengthy lay-off after following the surgery for his thigh injury.
New Zealand made as many as six changes for the ongoing second Test, some forced and some rotated ahead of the World Test Championship final against India in Southampton from June 18.
India and New Zealand will lock horns in the finals of WTC at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton
India will be hoping to pull off a miracle on Sunday by surviving Australia's relentless bowling onslaught.
Kohli highlighted that the nuances of the format cannot be fully utilised through just one match, and especially when it's to determine the world champions of Test cricket.
India stayed on course to make it to their third straight WTC final.
The final of the World Test Championship between India and New Zealand in June will be staged in a bio-secure bubble at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton, the International Cricket Council said said on Wednesday.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the WTC Final played between Australia and India at The Oval in London on Saturday.
South Africa are the World Test champions and skipper Temba Bavuma wants them to play like it and prove their credentials in the two-Test series against India beginning on Friday.
It means the inaugural World Test Championship winners face a tough ask to qualify for next year's one-off Test in June 2025, with two wins against England and several other results also needing to go their way if they are to reach the Lord's decider.
WTC finalists to be decided by percentage of points earned: Report
Shubman Gill celebrated his maiden Test series win as India completed a 2-0 sweep over West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
India overtook Australia after their thumping 295-run win in the first Test in Perth.
Ahmedabad will also host the final Test, though with the traditional red ball, and the pitch is unlikely to be vastly different from the one that saw 30 wickets fall in five sessions in the shortest completed Test match since 1935.
The ICC World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand in Southampton will be held in the presence of 4000 spectators, Hampshire County Club head Rod Bransgrove said.
Vettori also expects Cameron Green to play a big part in the WTC final, especially after his superb showing in the just-concluded IPL.
The Australian team on paper holds slight advantage on a bouncy track at The Oval but both Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting believe that the Indians are better prepared.
Former wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel said India have all the 'bases covered' for the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand, to be played in Southampton from June 18 to 22.
The India team have had its share of innovations and it is now using multi-coloured rubber balls for catching practice!
Asked about losing yet another toss, Gill quipped, 'I think the only toss that I'm going to win is hopefully in the WTC finals.'
The Australian team will prepare for the six Tests by undergoing a high-intensity training camp in Beckenham, featuring centre-wicket practice and net sessions.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is yet to release the 'Playing Conditions' for the WTC final. Also, before boarding the flight to London, for the England tour, every male and female member needs to carry six RT-PCR negative results.
Team India is all set to take on Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship final from Wednesday at The Oval and this 'Ultimate Test' also brings with it a set of milestones that players can establish during the course of the match.
It was India's fourth loss in the current WTC cycle, causing their PCT to drop from 68.06 to 62.82.
Ponting said at the end of the day it comes down to individual preparation.
Kevin Pietersen criticises England after their Ashes loss in Adelaide
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 current WTC system awards the same number of points -- 12 for a win, six for a tie and four for a draw -- which has given rise to discontent that India, England and Australia -- the Big Three in cricket -- "are disadvantaged as they play more games against each other".
Fast bowler Jacob Duffy and spinner Ajaz Patel routed West Indies as New Zealand won the third and final Test by 323 runs to complete a 2-0 series victory
India head coach Ravi Shastri on Wednesday said the ICC World Test Championship final should be a best-of-three affair in the long run and not a one-off match like his side is set to play against New Zealand in the inaugural edition.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the WTC Final played between Australia and India at The Oval in London on Thursday.
The 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final will be played at the iconic Lord's cricket ground from June 11 to 15 next year.
'I know he is on record saying that the Test match game is probably a little bit hard on his body. But for a one-off game... he's been bowling every game through this IPL and he's bowling quick.'
When Kohli asked Jamieson to bowl with the Dukes to him in the nets, the New Zealander did not fall for that trick.
Panesar feels the concept of WTC is a great advertisement of Test cricket and the former spinner went on to term the summit clash as an encounter similar to arch-rivals India and Pakistan playing a Test match or the Ashes.
For the Indian captain and his team, the WTC final is like their Test debuts as young players trying to come up the ranks.
Young opener Shubman Gill is looking in good rhythm and should continue to open the innings alongside Rohit Sharma in the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand, former India batsman VVS Laxman said on Tuesday.
Throughout the Test series, Indian batters struggled against a strong South African bowling attack. Indian batters averaged just 15.23 across the two-match Test series against South Africa.
India's fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar ruled out the possibility of a change in the playing XI after the opening day of the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand was washed out.
