The final of the World Test Championship is being played between Australia and South Africa.
South Africa showed aggressive style while chasing Australia’s target of 282 runs on the third day of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2025 at Lord’s. Opener Aiden Markram’s brilliant half-century and his strong partnership with captain Temba Bavuma helped South Africa score 94/2 till the tea break. In this exciting match, South Africa put pressure on Australia, but Steve Smith’s injury increased the difficulties for Australia.
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Steve Smith’s injury shocks Australia
Australia suffered a major setback on the third day when Steve Smith injured his finger while trying to catch Temba Bavuma off Mitchell Starc. Bavuma was only on 2 runs at that time, and this missed catch could prove to be costly for Australia. Due to the injury, Smith had to leave the field for treatment. Although Starc gave Australia early success by taking both the wickets in the second session of the day, Smith’s absence affected the team’s strategy.
Australia’s second innings and challenging target
Australia scored 207 runs in their second innings thanks to a brilliant half-century from Mitchell Starc (58 not out) and a 59-run partnership for the last wicket with Josh Hazlewood (17). This score set a challenging target of 282 runs in front of South Africa. Taking advantage of the favorable conditions for batting, South Africa started aggressively, which put the Australian bowlers under pressure.
South Africa’s aggressive batting
South Africa started chasing the target aggressively. Opener Ryan Rickelton hit a four against Mitchell Starc, but Starc dismissed him early to give Australia the first breakthrough. After this, Aiden Markram and Wiaan Mulder (27) played confident shots against Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. Markram hit fours off Hazlewood and Starc, while Mulder hit attractive shots against Cummins and Lyon. South Africa completed 50 runs in the 13th over, but Starc dismissed Mulder to give the second blow.
Bavuma’s lifeline and partnership
In one of Mitchell Starc’s overs, Temba Bavuma got a lifeline after Steve Smith dropped a difficult catch. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Bavuma strengthened the partnership with Markram. Australia put Nathan Lyon on the bowling in the 10th over to control the run rate, which curbed the run flow to some extent. Nevertheless, the pair of Markram and Bavuma put South Africa in a strong position at tea break, making this final even more exciting.
