New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS): South Africa captain Temba Bavuma stated that his team has firmly set their sights on entering their first-ever World Test Championship Final, to be held at Lord’s in June next year.

South Africa are currently sitting on top of the standings for the ongoing cycle with 63.33 PCT, ahead of their two-match Test series against Pakistan, starting with the Boxing Day game on December 26 at SuperSport Park in Centurion. It will be followed by the New Year’s game at Newlands in Cape Town, starting on January 3.

After beating Sri Lanka 2-0, South Africa now needs to win one of their two Tests against Pakistan to confirm their slot for the WTC Final. "The World Test Championship; it’s a World Cup for the red-ball players. We've obviously set our sights on seeing ourselves in that final."

"We've given ourselves a very good opportunity to do so and we’re quite close to that. We’ve played some good cricket as a team. We’d want to continue that. That championship means a lot as well to cricket around the world," Bavuma was quoted as saying by the ICC.

Other teams in contention for the final are reigning championship winners Australia (58.89 PCT), and two-time runners-up India (55.88 PCT), who occupy the second, and third slots in the points table, respectively.

With the current WTC cycle heading towards a thrilling conclusion, Bavuma, the right-handed batter, highlighted the standout aspect of playing Test cricket.

"I think from a pure skill point of view, as players, we’ve always wanted to play Test cricket. You want to see yourself succeeding where things are tough, where you’re tested for long periods. Test cricket is the purest form of the game, and there’s a reason why they say that,” he concluded.