AUS vs SA Highlights, WTC Final 2025: South Africa 43/4 at stumps on Day 1, trail Australia by 169 runs

Josh Hazlewood to Temba Bavuma, Full on off, Temba Bavuma blocks it off the front foot to short cover.

Josh Hazlewood to Temba Bavuma, Good length delivery angling in on middle, Temba Bavuma comfortably defends it to mid on. The pitch has slowed down quite a bit and Bavuma's finding it easy to play off the crease waiting for the ball to arrive.

Pat Cummins to Aiden Markram, Full and straight, pushed towards mid on.

Pat Cummins to Temba Bavuma, A short ball now, outside off, Bavuma looks to pull but the ball comes slowly off the surface. Hence, he gets a bottom edge which rockets past the leg stump towards fine leg. Bavuma is hobbling across for the single so Josh Hazlewood at fine leg has all the time in the world to jog across towards the ball.

Pat Cummins to Temba Bavuma, On a good length, outside off, Temba Bavuma shoulders arms.

Pat Cummins to Temba Bavuma, Length ball on middle, Temba Bavuma defends it towards catching mid on.

Pat Cummins to Temba Bavuma, Touch fuller on off, Temba Bavuma looks to drive it on the up, the ball straightens a touch after pitching and hits the outer part of Temba's bat and goes on the bounce to short cover.

Pat Cummins to Temba Bavuma, Length ball on middle, Temba Bavuma defends it off the crease, right under his eyes.

Josh Hazlewood to Aiden Markram, Around off, Markram looks to defend but gets a thick inside edge onto his pads.

Josh Hazlewood to Temba Bavuma, Oh... testing that hamstring? Full and straight, Bavuma taps it towards mid on and calls for a quick single. He is literally limping and hobbles across to the other end. Mid on gets across but fumbles while trying to pick up and throw the ball. He is surely a team player, Bavuma, as he does not want Markram to get bogged down under pressure if they cannot take quick singles.

Josh Hazlewood to Temba Bavuma, Landed outside off, left alone.

Josh Hazlewood to Temba Bavuma, FOUR! Nice timing on that one! On a length sliding on leg, Temba Bavuma flicks it along the ground towards the deep square leg region for four. Save that hammy. Don't run. 100 UP FOR SOUTH AFRICA. 182 more needed.

Josh Hazlewood to Temba Bavuma, Fuller on off, Temba Bavuma defends it solidly off the front foot to mid off.

Josh Hazlewood to bowl from the other end. 5-0-16-0 so far.

Josh Hazlewood to Aiden Markram, Full on middle, Aiden Markram flicks it to the right of mid on and takes a single.

Pat Cummins to Temba Bavuma, A bit too full, outside off, Temba Bavuma keeps it out to the off side.

Pat Cummins to Temba Bavuma, Fuller and just around off, Bavuma drives it straight to cover.

Pat Cummins to Temba Bavuma, Length ball, outside off, Bavuma leaves it alone.

Pat Cummins to Aiden Markram, FIFTY for Markram! What an occasion he has chosen to score this! Length ball, angling on middle, Aiden Markram knocks this towards the mid on region for a quick single. A knock of quality from Markram under pressure.

Pat Cummins to Aiden Markram, Good length, slightly outside off, punched off the back foot from the crease.

Pat Cummins to Aiden Markram, Good length, on off, punched to the point region.

Welcome back. First things first, from a South African perspective, Temba Bavuma has come out along with Aiden Markram. That will be a big boost to the rest of the team. The Aussies get into a huddle. 41 overs left in the day but I fear we will have at least 10 left unbowled, unless Nathan Lyon gets a long spell. It will be Pat Cummins to kick things off after Tea. Markram to face. No Steve Smith yet, on the field.

... DAY 3, FINAL SESSION ...

Well then, South Africa have looked in control with the bat so far, and their scoring rate is impressive too, as they have constantly been at and around that 4 runs per over rate. But as we have seen the momentum juggling back and forth, can the Aussies strike back strongly? Of course, the Proteas won't be at ease at all as they WILL have to SCORE 188 runs to get their hands on that mace. For Australia, their 'never-say-die' attitude proved fruitful with the bat, and they would be hoping that it would replicate with the ball. If Australia manage to get two or three wickets in this final session, without conceding many runs, who knows, we will be in for a thriller come Saturday, Day 4. The post-Tea session is just about to kickoff in a few minutes' time. Stay tuned.

Something wasn't quite clicking for Starc and Hazlewood in their opening burst and to be fair, they offered a few looseners as well. Now, was it because they'd been grafting with the bat for more than an hour and a half? Starc had faced over 100 deliveries, and Hazlewood wasn't far behind during that marathon 59-run last-wicket stand that took 135 balls. But then again, maybe it was just the pitch doing its thing. The surface had clearly mellowed out, as gone were the early-over demons that had batters jumping around like they were dodging wasps.

With the ball coming nicely on the bat, Aiden Markram initiated the charge with a flurry of boundaries, which helped them set a perfect foundation. Runs came at ease, which compelled Pat Cummins to switch from Plan A to Plan B quickly, as there was not a single maiden in the first ten overs. In fact, so far, there have just been two maidens bowled in 24 overs of this South African chase, both by Lyon. Cummins did bring in Lyon to see whether spin gets the bite, but it didn't work. Also, Bavuma's dropped catch when he was batting at 2 by Smith, off Starc, didn't help their cause either. 

On the first two days, the ball dominated the bat, but it has been quite the contrary this day as the bat has spoken against the ball and how! Bright sunny day, with no visible cloud cover by far, Lord's the venue, where conditions are perfect for batting on the third day, proved just right. It was Australia first who frustrated the Saffas with their tough grit and resolve, from the tailenders. Extending their lead to 281, but that was responded to firmly by the Proteas with the bat. Yes, they lost Rickelton early, but the positive was that they came out with intent. The ball showed absolutely no signs of movement, which made batting a bit easier, in fact, the best batting conditions in this finale so far. Cementing our point, as per Dinesh Karthik on air, there was around 35 percent less seam movement than in the first inning.

Day 3 of any Test is considered the 'Moving Day'. However, this Grand Finale has moved at a breakneck speed, and more rapidly on this third day. Momentum just hasn't been with one side in this Test for more than one session. Australia bag one, South Africa respond equally to claim the next, and this has been the story so far, throughout. The first session today was bossed by Australia with the bat, only to be followed by South Africa bagging this commandingly, in the chase.

Mitchell Starc to Aiden Markram, Aims the sticks, does Starc, full in length. Aiden Markram flicks this through mid-wicket for a single. TEA ON DAY 3, SOUTH AFRICA 94/2, NEED ANOTHER 188.

Mitchell Starc to Temba Bavuma, Good length, around middle and leg. Temba Bavuma tucks this with soft hands and gets a single at deep square leg.

Mitchell Starc to Aiden Markram, Short of a good length, outside off. Aiden Markram cuts it behind square to deep backward point for a single.

Mitchell Starc to Temba Bavuma, Fuller and angling to the off stump. Temba Bavuma prods forward and drives this through cover for a single. Hobbles to the other end, more than running comfortably.

Mitchell Starc to Temba Bavuma, Fuller delivery, outside off, Temba Bavuma drives this off the inner half of the bat to cover. That seems to have kept marginally low.

Mitchell Starc to Temba Bavuma, Starc keeps charging from around the wickets and angles this on the stumps, into the batter. Temba Bavuma plays a firm frontfoot block.

Nathan Lyon to Aiden Markram, Length, sliding outside off, punched to short cover by Markram.

Nathan Lyon to Aiden Markram, Now this one keeps a bit low, in front of middle, full in length. Aiden Markram, rather than playing this full ball on the front foot, goes back and across, and defends it off the toe end of the bat.

Nathan Lyon to Aiden Markram, Touch full with some extra bounce, on the stumps. Defended out.

Nathan Lyon to Aiden Markram, Slides this across off on a length. Markram knocks this across and Marnus Labuschagne makes a good diving stop to his left.

Nathan Lyon to Aiden Markram, On middle and drifting towards off, on a length. Aiden Markram rocks back and punches this straight back to the bowler.

Nathan Lyon to Aiden Markram, Nice and full, around off. Aiden Markram blocks this off the front foot to point.

Lyon given a rest. With around 10 minutes to go for Tea, Josh Hazlewood has been given the ball. 5-0-16-0 so far. Meanwhile, there is a slight delay to the proceedings. Temba Bavuma is on the ground, having called for the physio who seems to be attending to his calf or hamstring. The body language of Bavuma seems to be of a man who is concerned and in pain. He is trying to get up and do some stretching but is struggling to do so. Meanwhile, Sam Konstas gets himself a massage outside the boundary ropes. It is all happening out there. Hopefully no one dozes off in this extended break. We are now shown replays of 21.3, when Bavuma was taking the quick single. It was at the completion of that run that Bavuma seemed to have pulled something. Okay. the physio is off the ground and Bavuma is up and ready. And now, thanks to that break, the ball has been taken away from Hazlewood. Lyon continues.

Mitchell Starc to Temba Bavuma, Nagging length, slanting on the middle and leg stumps. Temba Bavuma brings the bat straight down and pushes it to short mid-wicket. South Africa need another 192 runs, and Australia need 8 wickets to win the finale.

Mitchell Starc to Aiden Markram, This is pitched wide of off, fuller in length. Aiden Markram expands his arms, gets low and slashes this to deep backward point. One run taken.

Mitchell Starc to Aiden Markram, Cannoned at the stumps, full in length, blocked off watchfully by Markram.

Mitchell Starc to Temba Bavuma, Good running! Back of a length, angled at the top of middle. Temba Bavuma hops on the back foot and tucks this wide of square leg. Travis Head charges towards the ball to his left, but Bavuma is quick to complete the single.

Mitchell Starc to Aiden Markram, Good length, outside off, Aiden Markram cuts this past backward point for a single.

Mitchell Starc to Aiden Markram, Slants it into the batter, does Starc, full and on middle. Aiden Markram flicks this off the inner half of the bat, but through mid-wicket and mid on. The two fielders from the inner ring are after it and the ball is chased by one of them yards before the ropes. Two taken by the batters in the meantime.

Nathan Lyon to Temba Bavuma, Not too full, not too short, turning in around off, tucked across to short mid-wicket.

Nathan Lyon to Aiden Markram, Flighted on a length, drifting on the leg stump. Aiden Markram steers this to the square leg region for a quick single.

Nathan Lyon to Aiden Markram, Turns in off the deck, on a length, around off. Markram punches this back to the bowler.