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Keshav Maharaj thinks South Africa have shown ‘phenomenal’ consistency and superseded expectations to reach the final.
Keshav Maharaj. (Picture Credit: AFP)
South African spinner Keshav Maharaj believes South Africa deserve to win the 2025 World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s because they have superseded the expectations with their ‘phenomenal’ consistency.
South Africa started 2024 with a home Test defeat against India followed by an away series loss against New Zealand, where they had sent a second-string side. But their form improved after a draw against the West Indies in Trinidad. The Proteas recorded seven wins in the next seven Tests, against the Windies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
“If you look at our Test unit, not many people would have afforded us the opportunity of making the final, but we’ve been phenomenal from a consistency point of view, from a cricket perspective,” Maharaj told PTI.
“The togetherness on the field and the camaraderie and spirit you see within the dressing room propelled us to get there. Hopefully, this is our year, and we go one better than we’ve done previously and raise a very prestigious title in the Test format,” he added. “It’s the hardest format of the game. It’s most challenging physically, mentally and emotionally. As a unit, the cricket we have played, we deserve to go and raise a trophy.”
South Africa’s narrow win in the first home Test against Pakistan sealed their spot in the WTC Final. They then completed another series sweep with a 10-wicket win in the second match.
Maharaj has been key to South Africa’s success in this WTC cycle so far, picking 40 wickets in 13 innings at an average of 20.57. Only Kagiso Rabada (47 in 20 innings) has more scalps for South Africa than the left-arm spinner in the two-year period.
Rabada had also fanned the fire in the buildup to the big final with his comments after the second Test.
“It’s actually quite some distance away, but a big occasion like the World Test Championship final gets you up for it,” Rabada told SuperSport. “South Africa versus Australia has always been an intense rivalry because we play cricket quite similarly. We play hard — and they’re going to come hard at us, and we know that. But we also know how to beat them.”
