Dale Steyn Praises Kagiso Rabada's Exceptional Performance in WTC Final

Dale Steyn's Insights on Kagiso Rabada's Bowling

Dale Steyn, the legendary South African fast bowler, commented on Kagiso Rabada's impressive five-wicket haul, emphasizing that Rabada always aims to capitalize on opportunities. He described Rabada's bowling as 'exceptional' during the first day of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's, where Rabada's performance helped him surpass Allan Donald, making him the fourth-highest wicket-taker in Test history with 332 wickets.

Steyn noted, 'Rabada managed to swing the ball effectively. The turning point came when Alex Carey played a poor shot on his first ball against Keshav Maharaj, which was unnecessary given the field setup. This dismissal opened up an end for Rabada, who quickly took advantage and started claiming wickets. Jansen also found swing and targeted the stumps, similar to Australia's approach later on. Rabada is a phenomenal bowler who goes for the kill when he senses a chance. His greatness will be fully appreciated once he retires, but he was outstanding on Day 1.'

Day 1 Highlights of the WTC Final

In the match, South Africa opted to bowl first, and Australia struggled early, finding themselves at 67/4 in the first session. A partnership of 79 runs between Steve Smith (66 runs off 112 balls) and Beau Webster (72 runs off 92 balls) helped stabilize the innings, along with a 46-run partnership between Webster and Alex Carey (23 runs off 31 balls). Despite this, Rabada (5/51) and Marco Jansen (3/49) maintained pressure, restricting Australia to 212 runs.

South Africa had a challenging start, losing four wickets for just 43 runs by the end of the day, with none of their batsmen scoring over 20 runs. Mitchell Starc claimed two wickets, while captain Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood each took one. South Africa trails by 169 runs.