Fans online praised South African pacer Kagiso Rabada for his outstanding bowling performance in the first innings of the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final versus Australia. The match, which started on Wednesday, June 11, is being played at London’s Lord’s Cricket Ground.
Kagiso Rabada began with three consecutive maidens after choosing to bowl first. He then started the Proteas’ championship match in a big way by dismissing Cameron Green (4) and Usman Khawaja (0) in his fourth over. In the company of Wiaan Mulder and Marco Jansen, he kept things tight with the ball, making it hard for the Australian hitters to score runs.
In the middle order, Steve Smith (66) and Beau Webster (72) put up a strong fight and scored half-centuries. They made certain that the reigning champions would reach a respectable first innings total.
In the third session, Rabada returned with yet another outstanding spell that sent Beau Webster back to the pavilion, causing a collapse of lower order. He then finished with five wickets, taking out Mitchell Starc (1) and Pat Cummins (1). In the first innings, South Africa was able to dismiss Australia for 212 because to his spell.
On the first day of the WTC final, Kagiso Rabada’s bowling display thrilled cricket fans. Through their posts on X (previously known as Twitter), they praised him. Here are a few of the most popular responses:
Had the pleasure of watching Kagiso Rabada closely at Delhi Capitals. A highly skilled pacer, he was a ultimate professional. Always focused when training and a total team man. Happy to see him bounce back and take five wickets in WTC final. #WTC2025
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) June 11, 2025When the lights are brightest,
Pressure is highest,
Crowds are the loudest,
The best will arrive,
The strongest will survive,
The greatest will thrive,
The Kagiso Rabada,
Man of big matches! pic.twitter.com/Foe5hNjGzE
— Dhruv (@I_m_dhruv_) June 11, 2025Rabada 🥵 pic.twitter.com/oH5fZ9okpD
— Out Of Context Cricket (@GemsOfCricket) June 11, 2025RABADA
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) June 11, 2025“If we remove Bumrah’s IPL hype & performance then we’ll realise Rabada performs better than Bumrah when it matters the most,” a fan opined.
“Rabada is The best bowler of this generation. He never went Wicketless in the finals,” a fan wrote.
“Rabada is amazing because he takes the least amount of balls to take a wicket when compared to every single other bowler to have ever played test cricket Not the best in this era… the best out of EVERYONE to have ever played test cricket,” South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi wrote on X.
“Kagiso Rabada is the most underrated bowler of the current generation; you never see anyone giving him GOAT shoutouts!” a fan wrote.
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown. King Rabada with another clinic at the home of cricket , 5 wicket haul as he tore the Australian batsman apart. Weight of a nation on his shoulders ,he never hides away. The best in the world , generational,” a fan wrote.
“Man, Kagiso Rabada really has lived up to every hope I had when I first saw him play. After Dale Steyn, we had no right to have another fast bowler this good, this tough, so soon,” a fan wrote.
Australia Dominate Day 1 as South Africa Collapse to 43/4 in WTC Final
Mitchell Starc, a seasoned left-arm pacer, gave Australia an early lead in the opening over of the second innings. Aiden Markram, the opener for South Africa, was dismissed by him for a six-ball duck. After failing to build on his start of 16 (23), Ryan Rickelton was also bowled out by Starc later in the ninth over. At 19/2, it left his side in a troubled state.
Wiaan Mulder (6) and Tristan Stubbs (2) also followed suit shortly without contributing many runs. Temba Bavuma (3) and David Bedingham (8) were unbeaten at the stumps as South Africa ended the day on 43/4, still behind by 169 runs.
