What happens when two top-class bowling sides meet? Exactly what unfolded during Day 1 of the ongoing World Test Championship final.
What Rabada and Marco Jansen started was followed up by the likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood. As a result, 14 wickets fell in a single day — yes, 14.
It was an eventful day, with Rabada making a strong statement by taking five wickets on his return, after being sidelined recently due to a ban for taking a “banned substance.” The right-arm pacer backed up his words from just before the final, showing no signs of regret.
Rabada had said he wouldn’t be “Mr I Apologise too much” after his suspension for recreational drugs, and his performance at Lord’s backed that up. He bowled with fire, precision, and menace — delivering unplayable balls that sliced through the Australian batting order. It was exactly what you’d expect from a big player in a big match.
By stumps, South Africa had been reduced to 43/4, but Rabada remained hopeful that his team could “score some runs.”
“The ball was nipping quite a bit and at times moving off the slope quite a lot, but I still felt like batters could get in,” he said. “If you just bowled well and got more balls in the right area for a long period of time, then that’s when you could create chances. But with this ball getting older, hopefully we can score some runs.”
Bowling first, South Africa dismissed Australia for 212, thanks largely to Rabada and Jansen — and even more so to their fielding, which outshone the Australians. Aiden Markram pulled off a blinder to dismiss the in-form Cameron Green off Rabada’s bowling. David Bedingham was classy in the slips, taking a sharp catch to send Usman Khawaja back for a duck.
What stood out about these catches was how cleanly they were taken, even amid momentary distractions from nearby fielders.
For Australia, it was a poor day with the bat. Apart from Steve Smith and Beau Webster, no one managed to leave a mark. Marnus Labuschagne’s struggles continued, and Travis Head failed to make an impact.
Still, the elite trio of Australian pacers rescued the day. Among them, Mitchell Starc looked especially dangerous and composed. Gone are the days when he was the weak link during away tours — Starc has once again proven why he remains one of the best in the business. Perhaps not returning to the Indian Premier League (IPL) has paid off.
Despite their struggles with the bat, Australia still hold the upper hand in the match. Smith had a lucky escape when South African bowlers failed to appeal properly — he was out at one stage, but it went unnoticed.
Australia now need to bowl and field with the same intensity if they want to stay ahead of South Africa before they erase the deficit. Smith, who scored 66, believes the match is still in Australia’s control, especially with South Africa four down and trailing by 169 runs.
“I think we are in a good spot. We had a few missed opportunities with the bat to try and get a bigger total. The wicket offered something all day, but we are in a pretty good position — 169 in front, and they’re four wickets down. Hopefully it does a bit in the morning like it did today,” he said.
