South Africa have eight wickets in hand and are now overwhelming favourites to finish off the job, and take the title away from champions Australia, who had set them a daunting fourth innings target of 282 in the final on Friday.
'There is a lot of inspiration we can draw from in the brand of cricket we have played in the last three or four years.'
A B de Villiers described South Africa's squad as a well-balanced unit and backed them to pull off an upset against defending champions Australia.
He has taken nine five-wicket hauls in SENA conditions.
The series marks the beginning of a new cycle for both India and England in the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC).
Cheteshwar Pujara's retirement from Indian cricket on Sunday prompted an outpouring of tributes, none more heartfelt than Jaydev Unadkat's.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for penalising only England for slow over rates during the third Test against India at the Home of Cricket, Lord's.
Spinner Keshav Maharaj took five wickets as South Africa secured a 109-run victory over Sri Lanka on the last day of the second Test.
Pakistan's loss has had a detrimental impact on their WTC aspirations. India continues to lead the WTC table with a commanding 68.52 points in 9 games.
Change will be a key theme for both the West Indies and Australia in their upcoming three-Test series in the Caribbean with the visitors set to field a remodelled batting line-up and the hosts being led out for the first time by Roston Chase.
The win propelled New Zealand from sixth to fourth in the updated standings, with a win-loss percentage of 44.44%,
'Every series is important, as simple as that, when you are playing for your country..'.
Pat Cummins, who is down with a back injury, will miss the upcoming white-ball games against New Zealand and India and also the Sheffield Shield matches in the run-up to the Ashes.
So far in the four matches of the ongoing five-match series against the Three Lions, India Test captain Shubman Gill has managed to score 722 runs in the eight innings at an average of 90.25.
South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj believes his team deserves to lift the World Test Championship trophy after their consistent performances throughout the cycle.
Joe Root is not only inching closer to Sachin Tendulkar's World record tally of 15,921 Test runs, he also has a shot at overtaking Rahul Dravid's record for the highest-ever batting average in India-England Tests.
Kagiso Rabada stamped his class on the biggest stage-rocking Australia and leapfrogging legends in the record books.
In the recently concluded five-match Test series against England, India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant stood tall as a beacon of determination, battling through injuries to deliver a string of gutsy, crowd-pleasing knocks that underlined his value to the side.
'If opener is where I need to bat to be playing in the Test team, that's fine.'
South Africa are confident they can chase down a spot in next year's World Test Championship final, even if they must win four of their remaining five Tests in the current two-year cycle
Australia is on the cusp of scripting another milestone. If the Baggy Greens trounce the Proteas, they will become the first team to defend the WTC mace successfully.
WTC Final-bound SA players likely to miss IPL playoffs
Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik praised India's Test captain Shubman Gill after he scored a record-equalling fourth hundred in the fourth Test against England.
A calf injury forced Josh Hazlewood to miss being part of Australia's World Test Championship win two years ago and the fast bowler is keen to avoid a second such heartbreak.
Australia spinner Nathan Lyon termed Indian players as superstars' while hoping to revive his on-field rivalry with India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
ICC chairman Jay Shah added his name to Lord's legendary tradition by ringing the bell before the World Test Championship (WTC) final
Glenn McGrath said his prediction this time is based on how England were held to a 2-2 series draw by India in the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy five-Test series.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed that Rohit will captain India in the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled to be held in Pakistan and the WTC Final which will be played at Lord's in June 2025.
For their next assignment in the ICC World Test Championship cycle, the two-time WTC runners up will aim to grab maximum points across those four home clashes. Here are five key questions the side must answer prior to their next Test match-up.
While this may not secure qualification outright, it would certainly keep them in contention. New Zealand head coach Gary Stead drew inspiration from the inaugural WTC cycle in 2019-21, when New Zealand won six consecutive matches enroute to securing the title.
South Africa's batting hero Aiden Markram has taken longer than expected to deliver on his promise, but a match-winning century against Australia in the World Test Championship final is being hailed as the biggest in the country's cricketing history.
Aiden Markram himself knows what he is capable of -- and how to express it on a cricket field. And South Africa will be the biggest beneficiary in the coming years.
From 'hope to history': Cricketing world explodes with joy as SA finally win major ICC title
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.
With Rohit Sharma stepping away from Test cricket, all eyes are now on who will lead India into a new red-ball era.
The much-debated idea of a two-tier Test system, expansion of the T20 World Cup and ratification of new members are some of the topics that will be discussed in depth during the four-day AGM of the International Cricket Council.
India, Australia and England are likely to be joined by South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the top division, while Pakistan, the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland will be placed in the second division.
India will miss Virat Kohli more than Rohit Sharma in the marquee Test series against England and the duo's recent retirement from the format will "hurt" the transitioning team's chances in the rubber starting on Friday, reckons the legendary Geoffrey Boycott.
New Zealand climbed to the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings following their thumping 281-run victory over South Africa
Cricket Australia will support any Aussie player who chooses not to return, as the focus shifts toward international duties -- particularly the World Test Championship final at Lord's on June 11.
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