‘Don't Celebrate Yet...': Why No Cricket Fan Can Bet On South Africa In WTC Final Against Australia

WTC 2025 Final: Will South Africa lift their maiden World Test Championship trophy? Nervous cricket fans are eager to know.
South Africa are on the brink of doing something special. Taking on Australia in the World Test Championship final at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, the Temba Bavuma-led side were given a target of 282 after Mitchell Starc's (58) late yet vital partnership with Alex Carey (43) helped Australia recover from the early slump of 73 for 7 to eventually being bowled out for 207. After managing 212 in their first innings, Australia dominated with the ball, bundling South Africa for a paltry 138 in their first innings.
Given a mountainous task of chasing 282 on a low-scoring track, the match appeared to be largely in Australia's favour but Aiden Markram and the skipper Bavuma had a mission on their hands and they weren't going out without a fight. Markram smashed a sensational and unbeaten 102 while his partner, Bavuma, playing with a single leg, put up a spirited 65 on the scoreboard.
At the end of Day 3, South Africa found themselves in a cruising position, concluding the successful day at 213 for a loss of just two wickets.
Only 69 runs to create history at the Lord's on Saturday, it is almost certain that South Africa is enroute lifting the WTC trophy, their first ICC trophy in 27 years.
What could go wrong?
Cricket fans believe 'it's not over until it's over" when it comes to South Africa.
Don't Celebrate Yet
'I hope South Africa doesn't choke this time. They deserve an ICC trophy more than anyone else. Temba Bavuma is playing the innings of his life," wrote one user on 'X'.
'If it wasn't the year it has been in sport, people would have still gone to sleep thinking that South Africa can choke from here. 2025 has made people believe," quipped another.
Waiting for South Africa to choke.— Akanksha Badaya 🎨 (@art_lover_09) June 13, 2025
I don't believe South Africa until it's 0 run needed. 🥲— Ritwika Dhar (@RituD307) June 13, 2025
I thought 282 would be a tough target to chase considering Australia's deadly bowling attack, but South Africa are chasing it downReally want SA to win this one but inner gut says they might choke
— Saad Akbar (@saad_akbar_10) June 13, 2025
Ghost Of T20 Final
South Africa, often criticised and trolled for faltering at big occasions, famously fumbled the T20 World Cup trophy on 29 June 2024 when they lost to India by 7 runs. Needing 30 off 30 with six wickets in hand after 15 overs, the Proteas were well on their way to India's target of 177.
That equation, however, changed soon and South Africa found themselves in a situation where they needed 16 off the last over bowled by Hardik Pandya.
Suryakumar Yadav's sensational catch of David Miller sealed the fate of the title in India's favour.
Wait… There's More
To rub salt into the wounds of nervous South African fans, a user on 'X' pulled up a scorecard of South Africa taking on West Indies in 1992.
'Just to keep South African fans a little anxious, here's the scorecard from SA's 1st test after readmission in 1992.
Began their day needing 79 with 8 wkts in hand!"
Just to keep South African fans a little anxious, here's the scorecard from SA's 1st test after readmission in 1992.Began their day needing 79 with 8 wkts in hand! pic.twitter.com/9hq0RgoECk — Guru Gulab (@madaddie24) June 13, 2025
You got this, South Africa. Or do you?
News18's viral page features trending stories, videos, and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated!
tags :
World Test Championship
Location :
New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
June 14, 2025, 10:28 IST
News viral 'Don't Celebrate Yet...': Why No Cricket Fan Can Bet On South Africa In WTC Final Against Australia

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

India Today

42 minutes ago

• India Today

What Karnataka's new crowd control bill proposes

Facing flak over the handling of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) victory celebrations, which resulted in the death of 11 cricket fans in a stampede outside Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy stadium on June 4, the Karnataka government has proposed a new legislation to manage crowds at events. The Karnataka Crowd Control (Managing Crowd at Events and Venues of Mass Gathering) Bill 2025 looks to 'effectively manage and control crowds at sponsored events and venues of mass gathering' such as political rallies, conferences and other events. It excludes 'jatra, rathotsava, pallakki utsava, teppada teru, urus, or any religious event pertaining to any religion, caste or creed'.Discussed in a cabinet meeting led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on June 19 and slated to come up for approval in the next cabinet meeting, the draft bill lays down guidelines on standard operating procedures for managing crowds, including protocols for dealing with emergencies as well as provisions for reserved seating, security systems, access control and advanced check-in solutions to prevent bottlenecks while ensuring smooth crowd flow. 'There shall be independent audits of every venue's capacity, entry/exit routes, emergency evacuation options and communication systems,' reads the draft. 'Venues that don't comply with safety standards should not be allowed to host high footfall events.' In case of emergency, the jurisdictional police station may postpone or cancel the event, or change its by event planners shall be punished with 'imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine up to Rs 5 lakh'. 'The event planner is responsible to pay the compensation to the person who is severely injured in such an event, mass gathering pertaining to political rally, jatra, conference etc, or compensation to the family member of the deceased. In case of the event planner not paying the compensation, the government may collect the amount as arrears of land revenue. The event planner's property can be auctioned by the government,' the bill outrage following the tragic loss of lives at the RCB victory celebrations had put the Siddaramaiah-led Congress on the backfoot, even as the Karnataka High Court registered a suo motu petition to hear the matter. The CM sacked his close aide and political advisor K. Govindaraju, while ordering the suspensions of five police officers, including the city police commissioner. A day after the incident, representatives of RCB and an event management company were placed under arrest. Meanwhile, even as a separate probe by the district magistrate is underway, the government instituted an inquiry under retired judge Justice John Michael The Congress government also came under attack from opposition parties, which took out protests holding the government responsible for the tragedy and demanded the CM's to India Today Magazine

Business Standard

an hour ago

• Business Standard

Won't be easy for Virat and Rohit to play 2027 WC: Sourav Ganguly

It won't be easy for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to remain fit and find a place in India's ODI World Cup squad in 2027, former captain Sourav Ganguly says. "All of us must understand, just like everyone, the game will go away from them and they will go away from the game," Ganguly told PTI in a lengthy interview at his residence. The next ODI World Cup is scheduled in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia and by the time the prestigious ICC event is played Kohli will be 38 years old and Rohit will touch 40. Till then India have 27 ODIs to play spread across nine bilateral series. That means Kohli and Rohit will hardly get 15 international games a year. "It won't be easy, with 15 games a year," Ganguly said. With 25,000 runs and 83 international hundreds between them, both Kohli and Rohit have expressed their desire to play the 50-over global event after recently retiring from Test cricket. Ganguly, an exceptional ODI batter during his career, was asked if he had any word of advice for them. "I have got no advice. I think they know the game as much I do. They will take a call." Ganguly acknowledged that finding a player of the caliber of Kohli to replace him won't be easy, though he is not worried about Indian cricket after the retirement of the two stalwarts. "I was not concerned at all. Virat is a class player. Finding his replacement will take time. But the rest, I wasn't surprised." Talking about Yuvraj Singh, Ganguly said he was a special player who flourished in white-ball formats but did not get enough chances to touch his real potential in traditional format. "I remember seeing Yuvraj for the first tine in Nairobi and saw that he is special. What he went on to do for India after that in one-day cricket is unreal. He was 2007 World T20 player player of the series, 2011 World Cup, player of the series, runs, wickets fielding, he was special. "Unfortunately he did not get many opportunities in Test matches. He played about 30 odd Test matches, he got stuck between Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly and VVS Laxman, but a special player," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Time of India

an hour ago

• Time of India

IND vs ENG: Viral moment! Rishabh Pant's six makes Headingley security official an instant hero

Rishabh Pant (Getty Images) NEW DELHI: India were bowled out for a formidable 471 in their first innings of the opening Test against England at Headingley, with three centurions — captain Shubman Gill , vice-captain Rishabh Pant , and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal — leading the charge. Jaiswal (101) and KL Rahul (42) provided a solid foundation with a 91-run opening stand, setting the tone for India's innings. Gill (147) and Pant (134) then took over, stitching together a 209-run partnership for the fourth wicket, taking the game away from the hosts with a mix of grit and flair. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Pant was the most aggressive of the trio, blasting 12 fours and six sixes in his 134 off 178 balls. It marked his seventh Test century — the most by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter in the format, surpassing MS Dhoni 's record of six. The milestone moment came in style as Pant launched Shoaib Bashir over the ropes on the first ball of the 100th over to reach his century. One of Pant's six towering sixes even landed in the stands, where a security official caught it cleanly — prompting cheers from the Headingley crowd and a warm smile and wave from the lucky catcher, whose moment of joy was captured on camera. This was Pant's first Test hundred since September 2024, when he scored 109 against Bangladesh. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo Pant's latest innings also saw him cross 3,000 Test runs. In 44 matches, he now averages close to 44, with 15 half-centuries to go with his seven tons. India lose momentum on Day 2 | England Fight Back at Headingley MS Dhoni, in comparison, scored 4,876 runs in 90 Tests, with six centuries and 33 fifties at an average of 38.09 — remaining the highest run-getter among Indian wicketkeepers in Tests. Following Pant and Dhoni on the list are Wriddhiman Saha (2 centuries), Syed Kirmani (2), Farokh Engineer (2), and Nayan Mongia (1). The strong start by Gill and Co. also marks India's confident entry into the 2025–27 World Test Championship cycle. Follow all the live updates, scores, and highlights from the India vs England Test match here . Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here