WCL 2025: Pakistan and South Africa set to clash in the World Championship of Legends final at Edgbaston
Pakistan secure WCL final spot following India withdrawal
Pakistan have enjoyed an impressive World Championship of Legends campaign, having come through the group stage of the competition as the only team with an unbeaten record, including nine points in their five matches and a net run rate of +2.494.
While the best online bookmakers have the Shaheens as marginal favourites to win the final, their route to the Edgbaston showdown has been marred by controversy stemming from the geopolitical tensions between themselves and arch-rivals India.
During the group stage of the competition, the Men in Blue refused to take the field against the Green Shirts, with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and the Pathan brothers taking to social media to announce their unwillingness to participate in the match.
In that instance, WCL organisers took the decision to deem the match a no-contest and award each team one point apiece. However, when the same two teams were drawn against each other in the semi-final and India refused to pitch up again, Pakistan were awarded the victory.
Nevertheless, despite the drama surrounding their route to the final, Pakistan have been excellent in this competition and have the psychological advantage coming into this clash, having already beaten the Proteas by 31 runs when they faced off during the group stage on July 25.
South Africa stun Australia to reach WCL 2025 final
South Africa booked their ticket to the final of the 2025 WCL in what was arguably the most thrilling match of the competition to date, where they pulled off a stunning one-run victory over their long-time rivals Australia in midweek.
Batting first, the Proteas lost the star of the tournament so far, AB de Villiers, in the second over but managed to get to a defendable total of 186/8 in their 20-over allotment, with JJ Smuts and Morne van Wyk scoring 57 (41) and 76 (35), respectively.
With Australia needing three runs off the final ball of their chase, de Villiers once again showed that he simply cannot be left out of the headlines, producing an inch-perfect throw from long-on to run out Nathan Coulter-Nile and secure victory for the Proteas, while also confirming our cricket predictions.
The 41-year-old has scored an astounding 311 runs in just five innings in this competition, averaging 103.67 and a strike rate of 230.37. He has posted 125 more runs than the second-highest scorer in the competition, his teammate JJ Smuts (186).
As far as the bowlers are concerned, Aaron Phangiso and Wayne Parnell have taken nine wickets each and are joint-second in the leading wicket-taker standings behind Peter Siddle (11). For Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal and Sohail Tanvir have bagged six scalps apiece.
