After winning the toss, South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma opted to bat first and invited Australia to come down and open with the bat. With enough firepower on their side, the Proteas skipper considered it a better option for them to chase. South Africa has opted for a brilliant pace attack, bringing back Lungi Ngidi to the side. But the main highlight of the act was their opening bowler, Kagiso Rabada. The 30-year-old came with an intent to lead his team to victory. He troubled Australian opener Usman Khawaja. After bowling 3 maiden overs to Usman Khawaja, he eventually got hold of him and dismissed him on his 20th delivery to Khawaja. With this, he outshone the world’s number 1 Jasprit Bumrah in taking wickets in the WTC finals as the Indian has gone wicketless in his WTC finals appearances.
wickets in wtc final
— rishi (@rishi__w) June 11, 2025
jasprit bumrah-0 (36.4 overs)
kagiso rabada -1 (3.3 overs)
🔥🔥❤️ pic.twitter.com/rHuB351WcR
Rabada Tormenting Australia
The Proteas speedster shook the Australian top order by dismissing Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green. While Khawaja went back to the hut without scoring any runs after 19 dot balls from Rabad, Cameron Green also failed to create an impact with the bat and departed on just 4 runs. This pushed the reigning world champions on the back foot. With Khawaja’s wicket, Rabada also achieved another milestone of taking 50 Test wickets against Australia. He has been featured in 11 Test matches against Australia and has taken 51 wickets.
Test Stats
In his 70 appearances in the longest format of the game, Kagiso Rabada has managed to put 327 wickets in the bag. His best performance came against the English batters, where he tormented their innings and gave an electrifying performance of 7/112. He is also among the top 5 bowlers to take the most wickets for South Africa in Test cricket, outshining legends like Morne Morkel.
Teams
South Africa (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma(c), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne(w), Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
