South Africa’s pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada struck twice in the same over to give his team an early advantage in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) final at the ‘Home of Cricket’, Lord’s.
Earlier, South African captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bowl first. Australian openers Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne came out to bat in overcast conditions. Rabada and Marco Jansen opened the bowling for South Africa, and no runs were scored in the first three overs of the innings. The first runs came off Labuschagne’s bat when he inside-edged a delivery from Jansen on the third ball of the fourth over and took two runs.
Rabada bowled three consecutive maidens from the other end. The right-arm pacer had been consistently bowling in that corridor of uncertainty around the fourth or fifth stump, and he finally got his reward. Khawaja, expecting a bit more bounce from the delivery, edged it to first slip, where David Bedingham took a sharp catch. The first breakthrough of the Australian innings came on the third ball of the seventh over with the highest run-scorer for the defending champions in the WTC cycle departing for a 20-ball duck.
Cameron Green came in to bat at number three, and the first boundary of the Australian innings came off his bat on his very first ball. However, on the last ball of the same over, Rabada delivered one that angled in towards off and middle stump but shaped away late, catching the edge of Green’s bat. Aiden Markram took a brilliant catch to his right. Green scored four runs off just three balls.
After bowling six overs on the trot in his opening spell, Rabada was taken out of the attack. For Australia, Labuschagne and Steve Smith are currently at the crease, looking to build a substantial partnership.
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