South Africa falls behind Australia by 74 runs following a poor first innings in the WTC final.

In the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Thursday, South Africa faced a collapse, ending their first innings at 138 against Australia, now trailing the defending champions by 74 runs in this crucial match.

Starting the day at 43-4, the Proteas found some resilience as Temba Bavuma and David Bedingham forged a 64-run partnership. However, this was disrupted when Bavuma returned to the pavilion, further exposing their fragile batting lineup.

Bavuma scored 36 before being caught by Marnus Labuschagne off Pat Cummins, who allowed just 24 runs in his 14 overs.
Bavuma, who hit the first six of the match, had previously survived an lbw appeal when he was on 17, facing Josh Hazlewood.

He took a moment to review the umpire’s call, seemingly not optimistic about a reversal, but the snickometer indicated he had made contact with the bat.

Bedingham remained not out on 39, having struck two boundaries in the final over before lunch, while Kyle Verreynne supported him with 11 runs.

Verreynne had earlier edged a delivery from Beau Webster, but it narrowly evaded the slip cordon.

Unlike their cautious start on Wednesday, South Africa’s batting showed a bit more intent, although runs came at a slow pace, reaching three figures in the 45th over.

(With Reuters inputs)