WTC Final 2025, AUS vs SA, Day 2: Pat Cummins’ 6-28 wrecks South Africa; Australia lead by 218 at stumps.
Brief Scores: Australia 212 (Beau Webster 72, Steve Smith 66, Kagiso Rabada 5/51) & 144/8 (Alex Carey 43, Lungi Ngidi 3/33) lead SouthAfrica 138 (David Bedingham 45, Temba Bavuma 36, Pat Cummins 6/28) by 218 runs at Stumps on Day 2.
South Africa’s defensive mindset in the final session of the opening day during the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final brought Australia back into the contest. In the first 14 overs, the Proteas nailed only three boundaries, six singles, one double, and few leg byes. A lead or getting near to the Pat Cummins-led side’s first-innings score was crucial for them to be ahead in the game.
Australia just needed to continue the same line and length. The lack of runs put enormous pressure on the batters. If they could get a lead of around 75 runs, they would take a giant stride in defending their title.
The surface looked dry under the sun at the start of the second day. That erased the swing and seam movement, unlike the first day.
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Let’s take a look at how the three sessions turned out on Day 2 of the WTC 2023-25 final:
Bavuma & Bedingham steady SA with 121/5, trail by 91 runs at lunch
The 64-run fifth-wicket partnership between the overnight batters, David Bedingham and Temba Bavuma was crucial for the Proteas. Unlike the opening day, they looked positive with vital singles and aggressive shots to break the bowlers’ momentum. Once the South Africa captain nailed Mitchell Starc for a couple of fours, Cummins opened the field.
Bavuma wasn’t scared off pulling the Australia captain over square leg for a six. However, there was a little phase when the 35-year-old got just five runs in 26 deliveries. The pressure increased and it resulted in a wicket. The check drive from the Cape Town-born ended in the diving hands of Marnus Labuschagne.
Meanwhile, Bedingham, using his County experience for Durham, played a significant role. He went into the break with 39 unbeaten runs in 95 balls, while Kyle Verreynne also looked solid in the middle. South Africa moved to 121/5 at lunch with a deficit of 91 runs.
Pat Cummins’ 6/28 give Australia a lead of 74 runs
For the next one hour since the break, it was Pat Cummins against the Proteas. He opened the gate with the wicket of Verreynne, who was stuck before the stumps. Two balls later, he sent back Maro Jansen for a three-ball duck.
The Proteas had no idea about tackling the Aussie skipper. Once Bedingham returned to the hut, it was the fall of the cards. South Africa lost their last five wickets for just 12 runs and gifted Australia a vital lead of 74 runs.
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Rabada’s 2/15 keep SA in the contest; AUS stretch lead to 106 runs at tea
Batting continued to be a tough task in this fixture. Even after the 28-run opening stand, Australia couldn’t go to tea without any damage. Kagiso Rabada drew Usman Khawaja forward to find the outside edge. One ball later, Cameron Green used his feet to find the second slip as they went to the break with a lead of 106 runs.
SA take early control before Alex Carey’s rescue; AUS lead by 218 runs at stumps
The pendulum swung again. From a comfortable position, the smiles turned glum in Australia’s dressing room. Labuschagne’s mirror-image dismissal to Jansen opened the gate for the Proteas. Lungi Ngidi squared Steven Smith before the stumps.
Meanwhile, the biggest blow came in the form of Travis Head’s dismissal. The southpaw got beaten on the inside edge as the ball deflected off the pad onto the stumps. They lost five wickets for 29 runs. However, Alex Carey displayed calmness to stage a rescue. In the 61-run stand for the eighth wicket between Carey and Mitchell Starc, they milked smart singles to keep the scoreboard ticking.
South Africa need to keep an eye on the extras. The inconsistent bowling unit bowled 19 no balls in the first two days. That could be the winning margin in a low-scoring encounter. The defending champions stretched their lead to 218 at the end of the second day’s play.
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What to expect on Day 3
Australia will hope to stretch the target over 250. But if they can get it to 235+, then it will be incredibly hard for the chasing side in the fourth innings. Batting hasn’t been the easy job on this track, especially under overcast conditions. For the Proteas, they will look to show some urgency some the start of their second innings.
Statistical highlights from SA vs AUS, WTC 2023-25 final, Day 2:
- Since Jan 2023, Bavuma is South Africa’s leading Test run-getter with 897 runs in 18 innings. He celebrated three centuries and four half-centuries for the feat.
- Since Jan 2015, Bavuma is South Africa’s second-leading Test run-getter (519) against Australia, behind Den Elgar (550).
- Bavuma and Bedingham shared SA’s third-best fifth-wicket Test partnership (64) at Lord’s since Jan 2010.
- Cummins picks up his 300th Test wicket.
- Cummins’ 6/28 is the first Test five-wicket haul at Lord’s by a pace bowling captain since Bob Wills’ 6/101 in 1982.
- Cummins now has the joint second-most five-wicket hauls (9) as captain in Tests after Imran Khan (12).
- Cummins (79) has overtaken Jasprit Bumrah (77) to become the leading wicket-taker in ICC WTC 2023-25 edition.
- Khawaja has an average of 19 against the right-arm pacers in Tests, with 12 dismissals since March 2024.
Top Twitter/X Reactions from Australia vs South Africa, Day 2 WTC Final 2025
Next level stuff from captain Cummins! He finishes the innings by collecting the 300th Test wicket of his career #WTC25 pic.twitter.com/zwlHuDsGRu
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) June 12, 2025
BELIEVE!!!!!
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) June 12, 2025
I don’t remember a time when the Aussies needed something from Cummins that he didn’t deliver .. #WTCFinal
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 12, 2025
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