Proteas stay in the hunt against Australia in Test final

South Africa are still in the hunt after a thrilling second day of the World Test Championship final against Australia in London on Thursday.

They have a lot of work to do on Friday to secure the trophy, but the Proteas will be buoyed by their impressive performance with the ball thus far, as their batters prepare for the hard-fought effort that will be required to earn the global title.

With 14 wickets having fallen on day one, another 14 tumbled on day two in a low-scoring clash, as the bowlers from both sides remained locked in battle.

At the close of play, Australia had reached 144/8 in their second innings, holding a 218-run lead with two wickets in hand and three days remaining.

‘A good position’

Taking a 74-run lead into their second innings, Australia were torn apart, with only middle-order batter Alex Carey able to put up a fight, hitting a relatively quick 43 runs off 50 balls.

Pace bowler Kagiso Rabada had taken 3/44 when stumps were drawn, after grabbing five wickets in Australia’s first innings, and he was well supported by seamer Lungi Ngidi (3/35).

“We are in a good position. Two balls could wrap it up (Australia’s second innings). We will focus on that,” Ngidi said.

“Chasing anything over 250 won’t be easy, so we will want to give ourselves the best chance.”

Proteas first innings

Earlier on Thursday, after resuming their first innings at 43/4 (still trailing by 169 runs), the Proteas line-up fell apart and were ultimately dismantled for just 138.

Middle-order batter David Bedhingham (45 off 111 runs) and captain Temba Bavuma (36 off 84) tried to turn things around, sharing 64 runs for the fifth wicket.

However, Bavuma was removed by fast bowler Pat Cummins in the morning session and the Proteas lower order collapsed.

They lost their last five wickets for just 12 runs within the space of six overs, with Cummins (6/28) ripping through South Africa’s tail as he surpassed the 300-wicket milestone in Test cricket.