AUS vs SA LIVE Score, WTC Final: Kagiso Rabada Removes Beau Webster as Proteas Wrap Up Aussie Innings

AUS vs SA LIVE Score, WTC Final: Mitchell Starc also started on a high, dismissing Aiden Markram on the very first over as he got a duck. After Tea, Kagiso Rabada ripped through the Australian batting order, ending with superb five wicket haul, to bowl them out at 212 in their first innings.

Soon after Tea, Keshav Maharaj got rid of Alex Carey (22) and then Kagiso Rabada joined the party by claiming Pat Cummins to put more pressure on Australia. Beau Webster continued the fight back of Australia after the dismissal of Steve Smith and Australia reached a fighting position by Tea.

The right-hand batsman is yet to be dismissed on 55 and Alex Carey (22) as Australia were 190/5 at Tea. Aiden Markram dismissed Steve Smith on 66 as the Proteas regained control of the match. Steve Smith has brought up his half-century with a timely boundary and appears to be solid at the crease, constantly placing the ball in the gaps to get the scoreboard moving. Marco Jansen bowled the big wicket of Travis Head just before Lunch to place Australia in big trouble.

At Lunch, Australia have lost four wickets in only 67 in 23.2 overs. Jansen, earlier, provided a vital breakthrough by removing Marnus Labuschagne, who scored 17, and set Australia back further on the backfoot. In the meantime, Rabada dealt some vital blows by dismissing Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green off the very over.

The Australian openers started the innings cautiously, seeing three maiden overs, as they tried to settle down. The ICC Test mace is up once again, and this time it will be a battle between two traditional rivals at the home of cricket which is going to claim the mace and the World Test Championship.

Will it go back to Australia, a country of serial winners, current holders of the trophy and a cricketing juggernaut year after year after year?

Or, in a year, across sports, that has been one of the bridesmaids finally having their day, shaking off the disappointments of the previous years and taking the baton in their own hands, will South Africa be able to shake off their long trophy jinx and be able to get one over the line and win the WTC title?

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Australia vs South Africa WTC Final Day 1 Updates

• Mitchell Starc bowled the first over with Aiden Markram getting out as the first victim of the duck.
• Kagiso Rabada took 17th five-wicket haul. On Day 1, Australia 212 all out (B Webster 72) in the first innings against South Africa in London.
• At Tea on Day 1, Australia 190/5 (S Smith 66, B Webster 55; A Markram 1/5) v South Africa in London.
• Beau Webster notched up his 2nd half-century. Day 1 Australia 174/5 vs South Africa in London.
• Aiden Markram dismissed Steve Smith with a score of 66 and the Proteas regained the initiative in the match.
• This was the 42 nd half-century of Steve Smith. In London, Day 1 Australia 103/4 vs South Africa.
• At Lunch on Day 1, Australia 67/4 (S Smith 26; K Rabada 2/9, M Jansen 2/27) vs South Africa in London.
• Just before Lunch, Marco Jansen claimed the huge wicket of Travis Head and sent Australia in some deep trouble.
• Kagiso Rabada went on to dismiss Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green in successive shots to reduce the Aussies to the backfoot.
• The Australians openers started tentatively, surviving three consecutive maiden overs before getting their groove in the opening overs of the innings.
• Temba Bavuma, the South Africa captain, calls right and chooses to bowl first.

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Australia vs South Africa WTC playing XIs

Australia playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

South Africa playing XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verrynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

Everything will be decided by the performance of these two teams at Lord;s which will stage the WTC final, a historical ground to what might be a historical moment. Pat Cummins and Temba Bavuma have mustered brilliant efforts in the past 24 months to get their teams to this position in the title match, and indeed they are the most consistent teams in Test cricket over this last cycle. Both South Africa and Australia are countries endowed with spades of talent right through the team, and neither of them will have a problem playing at Lord s where the bowlers will always be a constant threat but the attacking batters will reap the reward of good show.

The two teams have already named their playing XIs, and there are no big surprises: Australia will get back Cam Green, a huge bonus to their batting, and of course to their bowling, which can now add the hard-hitting pace and bounce of Green and Beau Webster to their three amazing lead seamers. The Aussies are sweating bullets and it is an embarrassment of riches as they seek to retain the mace and it will require South Africa to be focused and committed with each and every passage of play in this Test match to ward off a stubborn opposition. It is simply what Test cricket ought to be.

South Africa will not be intimidated despite the quality Australia have. Campaign at WTC has been brilliant, having won four series in a row, and seven out of eight Tests that they have played during the period. Their one series defeat in this cycle was against New Zealand, when they fields a much-changed side to play the Kiwis: to their main group, the men who will be on display this week, winning has become a habit, and that gives you the kind of momentum that can be hard to reverse.

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