South Africa’s pace duo, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, left Australia reeling on day one of the World Test Championship final.
Rabada’s five-wicket haul and Jansen’s three wickets restricted Australia to 212 runs in their first innings. Steve Smith and Beau Webster stabilized the innings with half-centuries, but the team lost their last five wickets for just 20 runs.
Smith reached his fifty off 76 balls, hitting ten boundaries. Webster, on the other hand, struggled initially but eventually scored 72 runs off 92 balls.
The duo’s partnership of 79 runs helped Australia recover from a poor start. Rabada and Jansen’s pace proved too much for the Australian batsmen, with Rabada finishing with figures of 5/51 and Jansen taking 3/49.
Australia’s innings ended in 56.4 overs, with Rabada and Jansen sharing eight wickets between them. The Australian batsmen found it tough to cope with the pace and movement generated by the South African bowlers.
In the first session, Rabada and Jansen’s pace had left Australia struggling at 67/4. Rabada removed Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green in the seventh over, while Jansen got rid of Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head.
The second session saw Smith and Webster rebuild the innings, but the final session belonged to Rabada and Jansen, who wrapped up the Australian innings quickly.
Rabada’s performance was impressive, and he was ably supported by Jansen. The South African bowlers’ ability to generate pace and movement proved too much for the Australian batsmen, setting up an interesting contest for the rest of the match.