Kagiso Rabada opens up on Australia challenge in WTC final

South Africa has a fair shot at scripting history when they face Australia in the final of the 2023-25 cycle of the World Test Championship. The high-octane match will be played at Lord’s from June 11. They booked their berth in the final after winning the first Test of the two-match home series against Pakistan recently.

Proteas premier quick Kagiso Rabada is already pumped up for the event. He acknowledged the competition between the two sides and their history in the longest format and was confident that South Africa would give it their all.

“It’s actually quite some distance away, but a big occasion like the World Test Championship final gets you up for it. South Africa versus Australia has always been an intense rivalry, because we play cricket quite similar. We play hard – and they’re going to come hard at us, and we know that. But we know how to beat them,” shared Rabada on SuperSport’s television coverage after clincing the recently-concluded series against Pakistan.

Our best format that we’ve been playing right now: Rabada

Rabada added that the longest format of the game was South Africa’s specialty, and complimented the team’s performance in their dominating whitewash of Pakistan.

“(Test cricket is) our best format that we’ve been playing right now. When you look at South African cricket and all our legends, they’ve all been great Test cricketers. The world’s best players are Test cricketers, and this series against Pakistan has been a wonderful advertisement for Test cricket, especially in South Africa,” he added.

South Africa emerged victorious in eight out of the 12 games they have played in the current cycle. They ended up with 100 points and a points percentage of 69.44%. The track record between the two nations in Tests is skewed towards Australia, with them succeeding in 54 of the 101 games played between the two sides (including 21 draws). However, the mega event at Lord’s is anticipated to be an intensely-battled contest.