WTC Final 2025: Key battles to watch out for
What's the story
The third ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final is set to take place at Lord's Cricket Ground from June 11.
South Africa will face defending champions Australia in this highly anticipated clash.
The Proteas topped the WTC table, winning seven of their last eight matches to reach the final for the first time.
Meanwhile, Australia secured their second consecutive final berth after a home series win against India in their recent summer season.
Here we decode the anticipated player battles.
#1
Kagiso Rabada vs Usman Khawaja
The opening hour of Australia's innings could witness a fierce battle between South Africa's leading wicket-taker Kagiso Rabada and Australia's highest run-scorer Usman Khawaja in this cycle.
As per ESPNcricinfo, the two have faced each other across 14 Test innings before with Rabada getting the better of Khawaja five times.
The southpaw has scored 154 runs in this battle at 30.80.
#2
Temba Bavuma vs Nathan Lyon
South Africa's captain Temba Bavuma will face a tough challenge from Australia's veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Despite missing out on five of the first six Tests South Africa played, Bavuma scored 609 runs at an average of 60.90 in this WTC cycle.
However, the in-form Lyon has trapped him four times across 12 Test innings.
The former's tally of 66 wickets at 24 is the most for a spinner in this cycle.
#3
Marco Jansen vs Steve Smith
Another exciting matchup will be between South Africa's left-arm seamer Marco Jansen and Australia's batting stalwart Steve Smith.
Jansen has taken 29 wickets at 20.82 in this WTC cycle, while Smith comes into the final after a successful tour of Sri Lanka where he scored two hundreds and crossed the 10,000 Test runs mark.
Notably, Smith averages a solid 49.14 against left-arm pacers in Tests.
#4
Aiden Markram vs Mitchell Starc
South Africa's veteran opener Aiden Markram will take on Australia's talismanic left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc.
The latter has been a formidable force with the new ball.
However, Markram should be confident as he averages a solid 41 against left-arm pacers in Tests.
Though Starc has trapped Markram once in Tests, the batter has scored 82 runs across six innings in this battle.
#5
Travis Head vs Keshav Maharaj
Travis Head, known for his aggressive batting style, has been a key player for Australia.
As the dasher is likely to return at number five, he might have to tackle Keshav Maharaj's left-arm spin in the middle overs.
Notably, Head has enjoyed tackling Maharaj in the past, hammering 29 runs against him at a strike rate of 103.57 without being dismissed.