South Africa is in a strong position to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final by requiring to win their five remaining test matches of the cycle. Especially, after achieving a 7-wicket victory against Bangladesh in the first match of the ongoing test series at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, Aiden Markram’s led side witnessed shifting from sixth to fourth place in the WTC points table.

With 40 points and 47.62 percent, the Proteas ranks above the New Zealand team that is currently placed in 5th position with 48 points and 44.44 percent. Consequently, the South African cricket team ranks as one of the top five contenders to participate in the ICC’s high-profile tournament.

As a stand-in-captain Aiden Markram in place of the injured test skipper Temba Bavuma, successfully guided his team to the first victory on Asian soil after 10 years, with their last success coming against Sri Lanka in Galle in July 2014.

Out of the 7 matches played in the WTC 2023-25 cycle, South Africa secured 3 wins and 3 losses along with a draw result. In addition to the forthcoming second and last game of the series against Bangladesh, the Proteas are still left with five more test matches including the home test series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

5 Teams Contending to reach WTC 2025 Final

As of October 2024, five teams are contending to enter the WTC 2025 finals by aiming to finish in the first two positions in the points table.

NOTE: The team’s rankings, as well as their points and percentage values, continue to change based on the outcome of the recent matches.

How South Africa is in a pole position to qualify for the WTC 2025 final?

Ultimately, South Africa is in a pole position to qualify for the WTC 2025 final as their fate depends on the following ways:

1. Simplest Fixtures with Four out of Five Matches at home:

South Africa has the easiest opportunities because they will be playing the remaining four out of five games at home, that too against less competitive opponents such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Moreover, Sri Lanka has won only 1 out of 7 test matches on South African grounds, whereas Pakistan is yet to secure a victory. As a result, it is a golden chance for the Proteas to make use of their home pitch conditions and ensure to maintain their dominance against the visitors.

South Africa’s fixtures of the 2-match test series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan are tabulated below in detail:

2. India and Australia to be in a tough position:

South Africa’s PCT (Percentage Points) could increase upto 69.44%, by managing to win all their upcoming five games. As a result, India and Australia could find themselves trapped in a tough position as both teams cannot simply afford to drop their position even slightly.

The Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) is set to commence on November 22, let’s consider how India and Australia’s upcoming performances could impact South Africa’s spot in the points table based on these two possible scenarios (if Proteas wins all 5 games):

• INDIA: Suppose, Team India manages to win five out of their remaining seven tests, it wouldn’t be possible for them to tally with South Africa’s estimated PCT of 69.44%. So, it is understood that India needs to win all five matches of the BGT as well as ensure not lose the two matches of the ongoing home test series against New Zealand. 

• AUSTRALIA: The situation is even worse when considering Australia’s fixtures as they have to win six out of seven test matches to ensure that the PCT remains above 69.44%. If the Aussies lose two out of their remaining seven test matches, their PCT would be only 67.54%. Overall, the chances of defending champions could further deteriorate if they lose the BGT 5-match test series against India.