Temba Bavuma, the skipper of South Africa, won the toss and chose to bowl first in the ICC World Test Championship Final against Australia at Lord’s. Kagiso Rabada stepped up to lead the bowling attack and made an immediate impact by taking out Australia’s top order, removing Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green right away. He ended up with his 17th five-wicket haul in Tests, helping to dismiss the defending champions for just 212 runs.
Rabada thought South Africa could’ve done even better with their bowling, saying, 212? We would take that. We thought we should’ve had them at 160, but that’s just how the game goes, after play ended that day.
With Australia at five wickets down for 146, Beau Webster played well, scoring 72 runs. Rabada was impressed with Webster’s attitude, noting that he had a shaky start but managed to find his rhythm. He looked in trouble early, but his positive mindset helped him, he said.
Rabada eventually got Webster out and reached a milestone by passing Alan Donald as the fourth-highest wicket-taker for South Africa in Tests. It’s special to be on that list, he said, expressing the pride he felt representing his country and being inspired by past greats.
While Rabada shone for South Africa, the Australian bowlers also made their mark before the end of Day 1. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and skipper Pat Cummins took early wickets, leaving South Africa struggling at 43/4. Rabada commented on the conditions, mentioning how the ball was moving a lot. He acknowledged the tough start but remained optimistic, stating, There’s still a lot of cricket left in this Test match, so we’re going to keep fighting.
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