The final of the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) between South Africa and Australia began on Wednesday (June 11) in front of a large audience at London’s iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground. Temba Bavuma, the captain of South Africa, won the toss and chose to bowl first because of the venue’s cloudy circumstances and greenish pitch.
The friendly conditions helped Proteas bowling attack who dismissed Australia in the first innings at 212 all out in 56.4 overs. South African fast bowler, Kagiso Rabada, led his team with the ball and claimed his 17 th five-wicket haul and came to the party in the title contest.
Marco Jansen provided valuable help, taking three wickets. After persevering through difficult moments in the first two sessions, Steve Smith (66) was bowled out in the 42nd over by part-timer Aiden Markram. Australia reached a decent first-innings total thanks to an aggressive performance of 72 (92) from all-rounder Beau Webster.
Then, on the first day at Stumps, Australian bowlers paid it forward in the last session, taking South Africa to 43 for four. At the close, David Bedingham (8) and Temba Bavuma (3) were at the Proteas’ crease.
Speaking after stumps on day 1, Australia all-rounder Beau Webster revealed that it was a difficult pitch for the batters, with life getting even harder against a high-quality South African bowling attack. He said:
— Out Of Context Cricket (@GemsOfCricket) June 11, 2025 Travis Head#WTCFinal pic.twitter.com/7713AG6DRO
— Rajabets 🇮🇳👑 (@rajabetsindia) June 11, 2025Iski India se special dushmani hai bs
Idhar toh down the leg ball pe out ho rha😭 pic.twitter.com/mduKhYZgIA
— Shivani (@meme_ki_diwani) June 11, 2025How I sleep knowing it ain't India losing another WTC Final pic.twitter.com/Jss6VcjvJu
— Shivani (@meme_ki_diwani) June 11, 2025"For the next 60 overs, they should feel hell out there" pic.twitter.com/TCXM3hWp9k
— TukTuk Academy (@TukTuk_Academy) June 11, 2025Flashback 🥲#WTCFinal #WTC2O25Final#AUSvSA pic.twitter.com/PlP8Qa7EL7
— Dogesh (@dogesh_bhai) June 11, 2025"No one will watch Test cricket if Kohli doesn't play" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/xhs5YtT0AT
— ` (@Itz_Bl3ze) June 11, 2025Travis Head #WTCFinal #WTC2025#AUSvsSA pic.twitter.com/MuVc7iPGNn
— Raja Babu (@GaurangBhardwa1) June 11, 2025“It was really hard” – Beau Webster reflects on tough Day 1 of WTC Final
Fans watched the exciting struggle between bat and ball on the first day of the 2025 WTC final. On social media, they shared amusing memes to convey their feelings. Some of the top ones are as follows:
“Had some luck, 20 or 30 balls, it was really hard, little bit of luck and managed to get through, we got a total on board. With Rabada and Jansen running in, it was tough. I stuck to my plans, worked hard in the last few years, it was tricky at the start.”
Beau Webster
“There’s plenty there, we saw in the last session, still tricky if you’re a batter. Our bowling attack is strong for a number of years. We saw how much the ball was moving around, 4 wickets is an outstanding effort from the boys.”
Beau Webster
