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- AUS vs SA Highlights, WTC Final 2025, Day 3: Ton-up Aiden Markram shines, South Africa 213/2 at stumps, need 69 more to clinch title
AUS vs SA Highlights, WTC Final 2025, Day 3: Ton-up Aiden Markram shines, South Africa 213/2 at stumps, need 69 more to clinch title
The day began with South Africa at 43/4, and although Temba Bavuma (36) and David Bedingham (45) stitched together a brief resistance worth 64 runs, it was Australia captain Pat Cummins who stole the show. Cummins produced a remarkable spell of four wickets for one run post-lunch, dismantling South Africa for 138. He finished with 6-28 and claimed his 300th Test wicket, etching his name on the Lord’s honours board.
But Australia’s second innings soon descended into chaos. Kagiso Rabada removed Khawaja and Green in the same over, while Lungi Ngidi bowled a fiery spell that accounted for Cummins and Webster, leaving Australia tottering at 73/7.
Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc then mounted a critical eighth-wicket stand of 61. Carey’s composed 43 was vital, but he fell to Rabada just before stumps. Starc remained unbeaten on 16 and was lucky to survive when Marco Jansen dropped a sitter in the day’s final over.
Australia’s lead may already be decisive, but South Africa will believe that quick wickets on Day 3 could still keep them alive. The pitch has offered bounce and seam, but not excessively so—raising questions about batting techniques from both sides.
Earlier, Cummins’ fiery burst tore through South Africa’s lower order, claiming the final five wickets for just 12 runs. His dismissal of Bavuma, Verreynne, Jansen, and Rabada in quick succession underlined his mastery in favourable conditions. South Africa’s innings crumbled from 126/5 to 138 all out.
Australia’s approach to building on their slender first-innings lead of 74 was aggressive but flawed. Beau Webster, their first-innings top scorer, fell lbw to Ngidi, while Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith also perished without converting starts.
Despite the carnage, Australia’s 218-run advantage heading into Day 3 could prove pivotal. Yet, with just two wickets in hand, the margin for error remains slim. One more day of gripping cricket awaits before the baton passes to South Africa’s batters for the final act.
- Aiden Markram 55 (80)
- Temba Bavuma 24 (42)
Josh Hazlewood to Aiden Markram, Full and wide outside off, Markram puts in a huge lunge and shoulders arms.
Josh Hazlewood to Aiden Markram, Full and straight, Aiden Markram looks to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. Josh Hazlewood appeals for LBW but the umpire turns it down. No real support from behind and eventually, Hazlewood himself accepts that it would have gone down the leg side.
Josh Hazlewood to Temba Bavuma, That's another fine pull shot. A short ball, outside off, Temba Bavuma swivels again, lifting his front leg and pulling it to deep backward square leg for a single. 169 more needed.
Josh Hazlewood to Temba Bavuma, Full on off, Temba Bavuma defends it to mid off, showing the full face of the bat.
Josh Hazlewood to Temba Bavuma, Length ball skidding off the surface, Temba Bavuma steers it down to the vacant deep third region. The fielder from deep backward point runs to his left and cuts it off near the boundary. Meanwhile, the batters complete two runs.
Josh Hazlewood to Temba Bavuma, Good length ball around off, Temba Bavuma defends it off the back foot towards short cover.
A couple of shouts coming out for Temba Bavuma to get retired hurt. The worry amongst the fans is that he might just derail the momentum and also, a new batter with fresh legs can take quicker runs. While that is a fair point, one needs to understand that it is not always easy to retire hurt and then come back again to play, if needed. Sometimes, muscles injuries get cold which don't allow the body to recover once it gets a decent amount of rest. Hence, these days, players prefer to keep on playing and keep the body moving and the blood flowing. One can remember that game between Australia and Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup, where Glenn Maxwell refused to retire hurt and the next, as we know, became history. So, on a big day, at the big stage, Bavuma is doing a Big Show.
- Temba Bavuma 21 (38)
- Aiden Markram 55 (78)
Pat Cummins to Temba Bavuma, That's nicely played. A short ball, around off, Bavuma tests his hamstring again as he lifts his front leg and pivots on the pull, playing it all along the ground through square leg, for a run. The stand moves to 40 (68).
Change in the field. Slip goes to short mid-wicket. Gully moves to first slip. There is a deep mid-wicket and a deep square leg in place.
Pat Cummins to Aiden Markram, Full and straight, this time Markram manages to get it wide of mid on, to his left and takes the single.
Pat Cummins to Aiden Markram, Full and straight, Aiden Markram offers the full face of his bat and pushes it down the ground. Sets off for a single but then changes his mind as mid on gets across quickly.
Pat Cummins to Aiden Markram, A touch fuller and on midddle, Aiden Markram comfortably blocks it back to the bowler.
Pat Cummins to Aiden Markram, Oh! Uneven bounce! Length ball that rises sharply. Aiden Markram was lunging in front to defend it and is taken aback by the extra bounce as the ball hits the upper part of his bat and rolls into the off side.
He went off earlier after dislocating a finger while trying to take a catch.
Pat Cummins to Temba Bavuma, Length ball on off, Temba Bavuma defends it off the front foot to the left of short cover and takes a single.
- Temba Bavuma 19 (36)
- Aiden Markram 54 (74)
Josh Hazlewood to Temba Bavuma, Landed outside off, Temba Bavuma just presses forward for a defense, opens the face of his bat at the last moment and takes a single in front of point.
Josh Hazlewood to Aiden Markram, Outside off, steered through point for a single.
Josh Hazlewood to Aiden Markram, And Hazlewood celebrates! For half a second. Because he then realizes that it is not a wicket. On a length, outside off, cuts back in sharply, Aiden Markram looks to punch but the late movement takes the inside edge and nearly goes onto the stumps. Goes wide of fine leg and it is another couple of runs taken by the batters. That hamstring is getting worked over nicely for Bavuma.
Josh Hazlewood to Temba Bavuma, Length ball angling into the right hander, on middle leg, Temba Bavuma works it square of the wicket towards deep square leg for a single.
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.
By doing so, he becomes only the third from his country to get a fifty in an ICC final.
The 30-year-old's solid innings helps the Proteas breach the 100-run mark as well on Day 3.
SA still need 180 runs to clinch the WTC title.
- Aiden Markram 51 (72)
- Temba Bavuma 17 (32)
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.
- Aiden Markram 51 (71)
- Temba Bavuma 16 (27)
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.
- Temba Bavuma 11 (23)
- Aiden Markram 50 (69)
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.
In fact, of the 50 batters to have faced at least 200 deliveries from Nathan Lyon in Tests, Aiden Markram is the only one not to be dismissed even once.
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.
Starc has reached 8 fifty plus scores, with the closest being Stuart Broad and Daniel Vettori with six each.
South Africa were bowled out for 138 in their first innings, undone by a devastating spell from Pat Cummins, who claimed 6-28 to reach 300 Test wickets and earn a place on the Lord’s honours board. Only Temba Bavuma (36) and David Bedingham (45) offered resistance.
Australia’s second innings mirrored the chaos, as Kagiso Rabada (3-44) and Lungi Ngidi (3-35) tore through the top and middle order to reduce them to 73/7. However, Alex Carey (43) and Mitchell Starc (16*) mounted a fightback, adding 61 valuable runs for the eighth wicket.
Carey fell late to Rabada, but Starc survived a drop in the final over to keep Australia’s hopes alive.
With South Africa needing early wickets on Day 3 and Australia looking to stretch their lead beyond 250, the match remains delicately poised—even as the finale inches closer than expected.
Match Statistics
Venue
Lord's Cricket Ground, London
