The Boxing Day Test week brought some exciting and thrilling Test cricket nail-biters. Amid the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25), the Rainbow Nation too were in action against Pakistan. After both the sides put up some good batting and bowling performances in the past four days of intense battle, the hosts were set up an easy-looking target of 148 runs in Centurion.
Notably, South Africa are hosting a two-match Test series as part of the World Test Championship (WTC 2023-25) cycle against the Asian nation. However, when it comes talking of the stakes, Pakistan are already out of the race, albeit, with the remotest of chances left to even try for the WTC final qualification. But for Proteas, the Temba Bavuma-led side just needed one win to seal their maiden Test championship spot.
In the exciting Boxing Day fixture, while batting first, Pakistan managed to score 211 in their first innings. In reply, South Africa finished with 301 runs. This meant that they gained an important 90-run lead against the visitors. In the second innings, the Asian side did a tad better by scoring 237 runs. As a result, Pakistan set a low-scoring target. But the comeback man, Mohammad Abbas, ran through the South African line-up as he claimed a sensational 6-wicket haul. But in the end, the hosts held their nerves through the pair of Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, as the duo took the side home in an absolute nail-biter to win the game by just two wickets.
This victory meant that South Africa stormed into the ICC mega event in some style to take the top spot in the latest WTC points table. Notably, this is the second mega cricket event in which the Rainbow Nation made it to the grand finale. This has created a great impact on other teams who are still battling for a WTC final berth. Proteas have won 11 matches in the current Test cycle, where they have won on seven occasions while ending up on losing three times along with a draw. This essentially meant that now the overall win percentage (PCT) of the African team jumped to 66.67%. Now, even if Pakistan manage to claim a consolation win the series by winning the second Test, South Africa’s PCT will remain significant (61.11%) still.
Australia, on the other hand, became the second entrants to their second-straight WTC Finale after beating India in a rather dominating manner during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The Aussies won the series 3-1, and a six-wicket victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the fifth and final Test meant that the Indians failed to qualify for what could have been their third appearance at the grand event. Australia still have a couple of games left in the cycle, as they take on Sri Lanka during an away series, scheduled at Galle later in the month.
| Position | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn | Points | PCT (%) |
| 1 | SOUTH AFRICA (Q) | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 88 | 66.67 |
| 2 | AUSTRALIA (Q) | 17 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 130 | 63.73 |
| 3 | INDIA | 19 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 114 | 50.00 |
| 4 | NEW ZEALAND | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 81 | 48.21 |
| 5 | SRI LANKA | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 60 | 45.45 |
| 6 | ENGLAND | 22 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 114 | 43.18 |
| 7 | BANGLADESH | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 45 | 31.25 |
| 8 | PAKISTAN | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 30.30 |
| 9 | WEST INDIES | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 24.24 |
*Last updated: January 05, 2025, after AUS victory versus IND at the SCG, fifth Test