Pat Cummins' Blunt 'India' Remark On WTC Final Against South Africa
The WTC 2025 final will begin from June 11 at Lord's, London and there's no doubt that Australia will be entering the ground as the favourites. However, Cummins is not ready to take the Proteas lightly.
"In some ways you expect India to be around. England have been quite strong at home and New Zealand always seem to get to finals. But the same case could be made for South Africa in ICC events," Cummins told the Guardian.
"We just don't see a lot of them in Test cricket but it's nice and different to an Australia-India final," he added.
The Australia skipper credited South Africa and even mentioned spinner Keshav Maharaj, who can pose a big challenge in front of them.
"It's hard to say because there are so many unknowns. We haven't played them much but you've got to be really well balanced to make the final," said Cummins.
"Their bowling has always stood out and it's no different now. Keshav Maharaj is a really solid spinner and they've always got plenty of quick bowlers who pose a challenge," he added.
Earlier, Keshav Maharaj stated that he is determined to follow in the famous footsteps of Graeme Smith and his world number one team of yesteryears at the World Test Championship final.
"I remember watching that when they lifted the mace," he said.
"We know that apart from doing it for us, we want to honour the legends of the past and hopefully we will one day be seen in the same calibre and light to win such a coveted title and hold the Test mace," he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
8 minutes ago
- India Today
ENG vs IND, 5th Test Day 4 weather: Will rain disrupt the Oval thriller?
Three action-packed days at the Kennington Oval have set up the fifth and final Test between England and India for a dramatic finale. As the series stands at 2-1 in England's favour, Day 4 is being billed as the business end of the contest — one that could either level the series at 2-2 or see England clinch it a bowling masterclass from Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna on Day 2, Day 3 belonged to India's batting grit and flair. Yashasvi Jaiswal stood tall with a masterful century, leading India's charge towards a potentially match-winning lead. The real surprise, however, came from nightwatchman Akash Deep, who shocked the English bowlers with an aggressive counterattack. Contributions from Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar in the latter half of the innings further extended India's second-innings total, setting England a daunting target of 374 vs ENG, 5th Test Day 3: Highlights Just before stumps, Siraj struck with a lethal inswinging yorker to dismiss Zak Crawley for 14 — a vital blow that tilted the momentum in India's favour heading into Day the best news from Day 3, though, was the weather — after the first two days were frequently interrupted by rain, skies remained clear. But will the same hold true on Day 4?Oval Weather Forecast – Day 4Unfortunately, weather reports from BBC and AccuWeather suggest clouds could return. There is a 40–50% chance of rain throughout the day, particularly peaking during the afternoon. Temperatures are expected to hover between 18C and 22C, with humid conditions possibly assisting bowlers early interruptions could disrupt what promises to be a gripping day of Test cricket. While Day 5 remains in the bank, both sides — especially India — will be desperate for an uninterrupted day. With England needing 324 more runs and India eyeing nine wickets, every session on Day 4 could prove decisive.- Ends
Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
AB de Villiers lights up WCL final with yet another hundred, fans demand retirement U-turn after title-clinching knock
AB de Villiers' return to cricket proved to be a thoroughly triumphant one, as he struck his third century of the World Championship of Legends 2025 to lead South Africa Champions to the title over Pakistan at Edgbaston. AB de Villiers lifts the WCL 2025 trophy after hitting 120*(60) in the final vs Pakistan.(WCL Instagram) It has been a truly incredible campaign with the bat for de Villiers, who returned to a competitive cricket field with his first appearance since his retirement in 2021. In his first go on the masters' tour, de Villiers wrapped things up with an unbeaten 120* off just 60 deliveries, opening the batting and helping the Proteas chase down a target of 196 in just 16.5 overs. De Villiers' innings consisted of 12 boundaries and 7 sixes, flaying the ball all across the Edgbaston pitch as he showed he would still fit in at the highest level of the sport if he really desired. To make matters even more special, de Villiers struggled with an injury through the late stages of the innings, limping towards the end but guiding his team home. JP Duminy came in at number three and also played a very able hand, scoring 50* off just 28 deliveries to seal a nine-wicket victory with a six over long-off. De Villiers puts entire tournament to the sword De Villiers had an incredible campaign, scoring 429 runs in just 6 matches, comfortably leading the run-scoring charts and in a completely different universe compared to the other players in the tournament. He rightly picked up the honours of being the player of the tournament after a remarkable showing right through the tournament. It was a strong batting performance by Pakistan, guided by Sharjeel Khan's 76(44) opening the batting, with Wayne Parnell starring for South Africa once again with ball as he took a pair of wickets. However, it was never close for the team in Pakistan's bowling effort as de Villiers and Duminy laid into the bowlers with no remorse, completing the chase with 19 deliveries to spare. De Villiers finished the group stage of the tournament with 61* against India followed by 116* against England and 123 against Australia, making this his third century in his last four innings of the tournament. To pair with his incredible batting, de Villiers also made an impact in the field, as his last-ball run-out against Australia in the semifinal ensured the Proteas reached the final in the first place.
Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Jaiswal-led India turn Oval odds towards them
Kolkata: Yashasvi Jaiswal struck his sixth Test hundred, Ravindra Jadeja his fifth fifty of the tour, Akash Deep his maiden Test fifty and Washington Sundar a fifty at more than a run a ball to help India set England 374 to chase and win the fifth Test and take the series 3-1. Yashasvi Jaiswal acknowledges fans as he walks off the field after his dismissal. (PTI) The odds of that are high though as the record for the highest successful fourth-innings chase at the Oval is 263 even though this England team toppled 378 at Edgbaston in 2022 and 371 at Leeds in June. England lost Zak Crawley when Mohammed Siraj produced an inswinging beauty that snuck below the opener's bat and crashed into his stumps off the last ball of the day. This was just after Crawley and Ben Duckett got to another fifty-run opening stand, their ninth for this series. With Chris Woakes ruled out of the rest of the Test because of injury, India effectively need eight more wickets to win this Test and square the series but given England's history with fourth innings shootouts, this surely is poised for a riveting finish on Sunday. Throwing down the gauntlet to England involved scoring a 300-plus total for the eighth time, the joint-most for a team in a Test series, alongside Australia versus South Africa in 1910-11, the 1928-29 Ashes and Australia versus West Indies in 1975-76. India added 114 runs in the morning session, 115 in the afternoon and 92 in the final session, Jaiswal being a rock through two of those with a hundred that wasn't without its fair share of chances. To the two dropped catches on Friday, add another off Jaiswal that England couldn't latch on to. This was in the 58th over, when Jamie Overton got the India opener to tuck a length ball with a leg slip in place. Duckett dived low but the ball burst though his hands. Talking point of the morning though was the 107-run partnership between Jaiswal and Akash that almost saw out the first session. Akash came as a nightwatchman, but left with plaudits usually reserved for top-order batters as he braved whatever the English threw at him to grit out a resilient fifty. His innings too wasn't chanceless as Crawley dropped Akash early in the session. England started wavering pretty soon and India exploited that, adding important runs before Akash was dismissed for 66 off a short ball. Shubman Gill had looked really good in the little time he was out there going into lunch. With two boundaries, Shubman Gill started on a positive note but the second session yielded a first-ball wicket of the India captain when Gus Atkinson got the ball to swing in and trap him leg before. That meant Sunil Gavaskar's record tally of 774 runs, the most by an Indian batter in a Test series, stays intact. This was a situation made to order for Karun Nair who came to this series with considerable county cricket experience but England's bowling kept him on the backfoot, asking questions of him and making his stay a jumpy one. Still, 40 runs were added for the fifth wicket before Atkinson got the ball to kick up and take an edge off Nair's gloves. Jaiswal, however, kept going, raising his second hundred of the series and the fourth against England. Without Woakes, England were stretched by now but kept testing their limits by making their pacers come back for short bursts. That persistence finally gave England a much-needed breakthrough when Jaiswal holed out to third man for 118. Jadeja survived a close leg-before that he reviewed quickly before taking India to tea with Dhruv Jurel for company. How India bowl on Sunday without the support of another specialist fast bowler is to be seen but the decision to include Jadeja and Washington Sundar has at least yielded a rearguard the visitors desperately needed at the Oval. Between Nos 7, 8 and 9, India scored 140 runs, Jadeja taking 71 balls to reach his fifty, but Sundar getting to his half century in just 39 balls. By now England are well aware of Sundar's technical prowess but on Sunday they also got a taste of his counterattacking ability when India were 357/9. Against Atkinson, he picked a length ball and deposited it over square leg for a six, to Josh Tongue he just used the pace to smash a six over long leg before taking on a short ball and clobbering it over long leg for another massive six. Atkinson returned but Sundar carted him for two boundaries and a six to get India to a total they should be able to defend.
