WTC final: SA confident of chasing down target versus Australia
What's the story
South Africa's cricket team is gearing up for a tough chase in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at Lord's. Despite the challenging conditions, batter David Bedingham has assured that his team is "very confident" of successfully chasing down whatever target is set by Australia. The match has been dominated by fast bowlers on a seamer-friendly pitch, making run-chases particularly difficult. Australia scored 212 in the 1st innings with SA being bowled out for 138. In the 3rd innings, Australia were 144/8 at stumps on Day 2.
Historic chance
SA have often faltered under pressure
The ongoing WTC final presents a historic opportunity for Temba Bavuma's team to end their ICC title drought since the 1998 Knockout Trophy. However, they have often faltered under pressure in crucial matches, such as the 2024 T20 World Cup final. The current run-chase looks particularly challenging with fast bowlers dominating play on a seamer-friendly pitch at Lord's.
Match dynamics
Cummins gets 2nd honors at Lord's; Bedingham unfazed
Australian captain Pat Cummins, after Kagiso Rabada, became the second bowler to earn a spot on the honors board at Lord's. His remarkable 6/28 dismantled the South African batting lineup. However, Bedingham remained unfazed by Cummins's performance and expressed confidence in his team's ability to seize this opportunity and become world champions. "There's a lot of belief in the dressing room," he said after the day's play.
Bowling prowess
SA seamers made full use of conditions
South African seamers made full use of the overcast conditions in the afternoon to rattle Australia. At one point, they had Australia reeling at 73/7 before Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc revived their innings. Bedingham said this performance by his bowlers would definitely play a major role in their quest for victory. "When they started batting in their third innings, we would've definitely taken 220 for 8," he said.
Batting challenges
Anything above 200 would be challenging to chase, says Cummins
Cummins admitted that Australia would have preferred a few more wickets "in the shed," but he emphasized that batting remains difficult. He said, "The trend of the game is the runs are coming down. It's still pretty difficult out there." Despite some top-order disappointments, Cummins believes anything over 200 would be a challenging target to chase down.
Pitch balance
Cummins defends the Lord's pitch
Despite the wicket procession and collapses in all three innings, Cummins defended the Lord's pitch for providing a good balance between bat and ball. "I think it's pretty close to 50-50. It's a pretty good Test match. That's the beauty you get [where] all Test matches look a little bit different, but whenever there's a pretty good balance between bat and ball, it's always a pretty good match. This game, some guys have got themselves in and looked pretty comfortable out there and obviously a lot of other guys haven't, so it's been a pretty good balance," he said.