In the World Championship of Legends (WCL) final, where South Africa defeated Pakistan to win the championship on Saturday, August 2, former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina praised AB de Villiers for his outstanding performance. Suresh Raina praised the Proteas’ victory and praised de Villiers’ innings.
Suresh Raina further claimed that India would have thrashed Pakistan if they had advanced to the semi-final.
However, India’s decision to skip their planned matches against Pakistan took up a lot of the tournament’s attention rather than the final. Suresh Raina had previously withdrawn from their initial match against Pakistan, along with fellow Indian greats Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, and Yusuf Pathan.
Following the Pahalgam terror assault, which caused a great deal of public indignation, the withdrawal was made. Citing national pride as their top concern, the Indian players mutually agreed not to play in any match against Pakistan.
India and Pakistan were scheduled to play each other again in the semi-final, as fate would have it. However, in keeping with their previous decision, the Indian players decided to withdraw from the competition completely, giving Pakistan a landslide victory and advancing to the championship match.
What a knock by @ABdeVilliers17 in the final, absolutely smashed it
Had we played, we would’ve crushed them too, but we chose our nation above everything else.
Full respect to @EaseMyTrip and @nishantpitti for standing firm and not supporting any match involving them. That’s…
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) August 2, 2025
Regarding the game, the Proteas mainstay blasted his third century of the competition as de Villiers’ brilliance destroyed Pakistan. With only one wicket lost, South Africa easily won the match after chasing 196 in 16.5 overs. The flashy right-hander displayed his signature strokeplay as he smashed an undefeated 120 off just 60 balls. He received strong backing from JP Duminy, who scored a brilliant fifty off twenty-eight balls, and the two of them secured a resounding victory for South Africa and the WCL championship.
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