Day 2 of the World Test Championship Final 2025 saw South Africa battling to stay alive against a relentless Australian team at Lord's. After a Day 1 dominated by bowlers, the Proteas faced a daunting task to overturn a significant deficit, while the Aussies looked to press home their advantage.
On the first day, Australia were bowled out for 212, Kagiso Rabada taking 5 for 51. Marco Jansen supported him well with 3 wickets. Australia's pacers, however, struck back, leaving South Africa at 43 for 4 at the end of the day's play, trailing by 169 runs. Mitchell Starc took two early wickets, and Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood kept the pressure up.
South Africa resumed their innings on Day 2 at 43/4, with Temba Bavuma and David Bedingham at the crease. The overcast conditions continued to favor seam bowling, and the Australian pace trio of Starc, Cummins, and Hazlewood immediately posed questions. Bavuma and Bedingham had to display resilience and skill to navigate the testing conditions.
Australia's bowling attack maintained relentless pressure, making scoring difficult. The South African batsmen struggled to build partnerships, with wickets falling at regular intervals. Mitchell Starc continued his impressive form, adding to his overnight wickets. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood bowled with accuracy and aggression, exploiting the seam movement on offer.
Beau Webster and Steve Smith were the only two batters to score more than 23 runs on Day 1, demonstrating the difficulty of batting on this pitch. Webster said that luck played a part in his innings.
Kagiso Rabada achieved his 17th five-wicket haul in Tests, moving him up the list of South Africa's all-time Test wicket-takers. He said that his primary job is to do well for the team.
Australia surprised everyone by opening with Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja. South Africa included Wiaan Mulder at number three, despite his limited experience.
The key question was always likely to be which side could put enough runs on the scoreboard, given the strength of both teams' pace attacks.
