The first day of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final at Lord’s, featuring South Africa and Australia, was packed with excitement, outstanding bowling, and a remarkable statistical oddity.
Kagiso Rabada was the star of the match, taking an impressive five wickets and helping South Africa dismiss Australia for only 212 runs. Marco Jansen also played a key role, picking up three wickets.
However, Australia made a strong comeback in the last session. Mitchell Starc spearheaded their effort with two wickets, while Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood each contributed with one wicket, leaving South Africa in a tough spot at 43 for 4 by the end of the day.
Day 1 brought a strange occurrence that hasn’t happened in 145 years of Test cricket in England. For the very first time in 561 Tests played on English ground, both teams’ top batters were out for a duck in the first innings. Australia’s Usman Khawaja and South Africa’s Aiden Markram were the unlucky duo.
Rabada’s impressive performance of 5 wickets for 51 runs in 15.4 overs not only shifted the momentum towards South Africa but also secured his spot in cricket history. At 30 years old, he surpassed Allan Donald’s record of 330 Test wickets, achieving a total of 332 in just 71 matches, making him South Africa’s fourth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
Rabada is now only the second bowler, following Kyle Jamieson (who did it in the 2021 final against India), to grab a five-wicket haul in a WTC Final. Plus, he’s the only South African to achieve this since Jacques Kallis did it in the 1998 ICC Knockout Trophy final.
Rabada has taken 11 wickets in five ICC knockout matches, averaging 19.27. This puts him in third place among South African wicket-takers in these games, tied with Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald, and just behind Jacques Kallis, who has 14.
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