India bag bigger prize money than past WTC finals despite third-place finish

South Africa delivered a dominant performance in the opening session of Day 1 in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia at Lord’s, claiming four early wickets to seize momentum. The Proteas continued their charge by later removing the in-form Travis Head, who top-scored with a gritty 66 off 112 deliveries, falling to part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram.

This high-stakes encounter sees South Africa chasing their first major ICC trophy since clinching the 1998 ICC Knockout, that eventually evolved into the Champions Trophy. While the Proteas seek to end a long silverware drought, Australia are aiming to defend the WTC title they won against India in 2023, further adding to their illustrious history of white-ball and red-ball success.

Australia, the current world Test champions, had convincingly defeated India in the previous WTC final. India, meanwhile, had made it to the final in both earlier editions of the championship, losing to New Zealand in 2021 and to Australia in 2023, but failed to qualify this time around. Successive series defeats against New Zealand and Australia ultimately derailed India’s campaign, resulting in a third-place finish on the WTC standings.

Despite not reaching the final, India have benefitted from the increased prize pool introduced by the ICC. While they earned 800,000 dollars each in the last two editions, this time around they walk away with a significantly larger amount, 1.44 million dollars.

The prize purse for the 2025 WTC final has seen a notable increase. This year’s champions will receive a substantial 3.6 million dollars, more than double the 1.6 million dollars awarded to winners of the previous editions. The runners-up will also take home an impressive 2.16 million dollars, making this final the most lucrative in WTC history.

South Africa topped the WTC table with a points percentage (PCT) of 69.44, having played 12 Tests in the cycle, winning eight, losing three, and drawing one. Australia followed closely behind with a PCT of 67.54, playing 19 matches in total. They secured 13 wins and suffered four losses.

While Australia enter the contest as firm favourites given their recent success in ICC tournaments, the Proteas are unlikely to back down, determined to script a new chapter in South African cricket history with a world title that has long eluded them.

This article first appeared on Mid Day