The air of stardom doesn’t quite hover around Kagiso Rabada, as it does for some of his counterparts. But when the occasion demands, the speedster, more often than not, puts his hand up for South Africa, especially with the red ball.
On the opening day of the World Test Championship final at Lord’s, Rabada put in a sterling effort (5/51) that helped the Proteas bowl Australia out for a modest
212 early in Wednesday’s final session. He then needed his performance to be backed up by some resolute batting, but that wasn’t to be.
The South African batting group’s technical deficiency would always be up for a severe test before Australia’s famed pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and captain Pat Cummins. In those 22 overs before stumps, the Australian pace group was all over the Proteas, reducing them to 43/4.
A lot depends on skipper Temba Bavuma (3 batting) and David Bedingham (batting on 8) if South Africa, still trailing by 169, are to take a lead or get closer to Australia’s first-innings total. Starc removed openers Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton, while Cummins and Hazlewood broke through the shaky defences of Wiaan Mulder and Tristan Stubbs, respectively.
For Australia, though, the situation could have been a lot tougher if not for Steve Smith’s classy 66 and Beau Webster’s counterattacking 72. Together, Smith and Webster, despite the latter’s nervy start, forged a crucial 79-run fifth-wicket stand that helped Australia put up a resistance after they went into lunch at 67/4.
South Africa won the toss at an overcast Lord’s earlier on Wednesday and had no hesitation in putting the Australians into bat. The pitch wasn’t a greentop, yet it had plenty of purchase for the quicks. Rabada and his new-ball partner Marco Jansen did exactly what they needed to do.
They kept targeting the stumps and hitting that area just outside the off-stump. The going seemed to be getting harder for Usman Khawaja, who just couldn’t find that one run to get off the mark. And Rabada ensured he didn’t.
Bowling round the wicket and getting the ball to shape in just a wee bit to Khawaja, Rabada had the left-hander perish at the slip cordon. The dismissal had some sort of resemblance to that of the Sydney Test in January when India’s Jasprit Bumrah sent Khawaja back in the first innings.
Soon after, Rabada made sure Cameron Green’s comeback wasn’t off to the start he had desired. Bringing the stumps into play again, Rabada induced an edge off Green, who was nowhere with his footwork, before Markram snapped up a smart catch at slip.
The onus was on Marnus Labuschagne, Khawaja’s new opening partner, and Smith then. Smith looked steady, but not his partner.
Labuschagne eventually departed when Jansen, coming round the wicket, moved the ball a little away before the former poked at it and perished.
ICC World Test Championship Final - South Africa v Australia - Lord's Cricket Ground, London, Britain - Australia's Steve Smith in action
Australia’s game-changer, Travis Head, joined Smith at the crease and was on the ball straightaway with a boundary first up. But the rub of the green went South Africa’s way again. An innocuous leg-side delivery from Jansen
found a bit of Head’s bat as keeper Kyle Verreynne showed excellent reflexes to take a sharp catch.
With Head’s dismissal in the final over before lunch, South Africa were hands-down winners in the first session of this final.
For Smith, though, such difficult situations aren’t new. On this occasion, he had Webster to assist him. The former captain looked to be in his elements, cutting loose when the Proteas bowlers erred even a little in length for most of the second session.
Webster initially looked nearly clueless before Rabada, surviving what should have been a plumb LBW when on eight. The Proteas missed reviewing that.
Fortunately for Webster, Lungi Ngidi and Mulder couldn’t maintain the pressure Rabada and Jansen created. With Smith solid on one end, Webster was able to play his naturally aggressive game as boundaries flowed during the middle phase of the post-lunch session.
However, a gamble from Bavuma paid off when he brought Markram onto the attack. Smith made a rare error in his 112-ball innings and edged at slip off Markram, falling 38 short of a 37th Test ton.
Webster, thereafter, found an ally in Alex Carey, only for the latter to throw his wicket away with a needless stroke. After that, Rabada wasted no time in coming up with the clean-up job with subtle movement, which ensured his fifer while Australia lost their last five wickets for only 20.
