With the third edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final just a day away, Australia skipper Pat Cummins is excited about playing the blockbuster clash against South Africa at the Lord's Cricket Stadium. While a lot of experts and fans expected that India would yet again make it to the finals, like they did in the previous two instances, Cummins is happy that he is playing a final against a team apart from India.
The Men in Blue's dream of making a hat trick of WTC finals ended when Cummins & Co. won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 Down Under last year. On the other hand, the Proteas surprised everyone by making it to the WTC Final on the back of seven wins on the bounce. There is no doubt that the defending WTC Champions Australia enter this year's WTC Finals as the favorites, however, the Aussie skipper is not ready to take South Africa lightly.
"In some ways, you expect India to be around. England has been quite strong at home, and New Zealand always seems to get to the 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.
Also Read: South Africa Predicted Playing XI for WTC Final
Pat Cummins picks Keshav Maharaj as the player to pose difficult challenges for Australia in WTC 2025 Final
Cummins signaled off-spinner Keshav Maharaj as a potential threat for his batters in the WTC Final, starting on June 11 to 15. The South African is a very smart operator and has a knack for picking key wickets in crucial moments of Test passages.
"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.
Also Read: 'I was locked in the bathroom sulking’: Temba Bavuma's emotions, journey to WTC Final
"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.
It is here Down Under that Maharaj made his Test debut in 2016. He took four wickets in that game and since then gone on to become a crucial member of the Test side, taking more than 200 Test wickets.
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