Mumbai: Following a gritty display by Australia’s lower order in the first session of Day 3 of the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025, the reigning champions challenged the Proteas with a record run chase to lift the Mace. JioStar experts Sanjay Bangar and Matthew Hayden weighed in on the key turning points of the session on Cricket Live.
JioStar expert Sanjay Bangar assessed how Australia’s tailenders frustrated the South Africans:
“Starc and Hazlewood showed a lot of faith in their defensive techniques. On several occasions, Rabada tested them with short deliveries, but they got behind the ball well. Starc kept things simple. He wasn’t thinking too far ahead and played some solid cricketing shots without overcomplicating things. They also had some luck—some of their shots went through the gaps. South Africa tried everything. Rabada came around and over the wicket to both left-handers, experimenting with angles. But in the end, the application shown by both batters stood out. Now, South Africa will have to chase down 281, which is probably 30–40 runs more than they would have ideally liked.”
On Mitchell Starc’s composed innings, Bangar further added:
“Starc has a very organized technique. He likes getting behind the line of the ball and can play around the wicket. Today, he played with softer hands, and the pitch was slower too. But he didn’t attempt anything fancy—he just kept playing the ball on its merit. He wasn’t thinking too far ahead; this could very well be the most valuable of his 11 Test half-centuries. The impact of this innings on South Africa’s bowlers was immense—it expended a lot of mental energy. Given that even Australia may not have expected such resistance from their final two batters, keeping South Africa longer on the field has certainly created mental dents in their setup.”
JioStar expert Matthew Hayden also reflected on the session’s key moments:
“There was real courage from the Australian bowling unit while batting. That was a critical wag of the tail. Rabada bowled his heart out—he’s bowled over 30 overs in this innings and has been vital to South Africa’s success so far. To chase down 281, the top three South African batters have to step up. It needs to be done with the new ball when the surface is still good for batting. It’s not an insurmountable total—we’ve seen 200+ chased in the IPL and other tournaments, though of course this isn’t a T20 game. But if the top three show intent, they can put this Australian bowling attack under immense pressure. It’s going to take courage and clarity, but South Africa has the chance to make it count in the ultimate Test here at Lord’s.”
