South Africa’s captain, Temba Bavuma, won the toss and chose to bat first, inviting Australia to take the field. Kagiso Rabada, spearheading the Proteas’ pace attack, made a significant impact by dismissing Australian opener Usman Khawaja after a spell of maiden overs. This achievement highlights Rabada’s dominance, particularly when compared to Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s number one bowler, who has yet to take a wicket in his WTC final appearances. Rabada’s performance put the Australian top order under pressure, also dismissing Cameron Green. With the dismissal of Khawaja, Rabada also reached a milestone, taking 50 Test wickets against Australia. In his Test career, Rabada has taken 327 wickets in 70 matches, with his best performance being 7/112 against England. He is among the top bowlers for South Africa in Test cricket, surpassing legends like Morne Morkel.
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