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LONDON: South Africa’s speedster Kagiso Rabada achieved a significant milestone on the opening day of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final here at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
The right-arm pacer made history by becoming South Africa’s 4th highest Test wicket-taker, surpassing the legendary Allan Donald and securing his place in the record books.
Before the WTC final, Kagiso Rabada needed four wickets to surpass Allen Donald with 327 scalps to his name.
Most wickets for South Africa in Tests
Dale Steyn – 439 wickets in 93 Tests
Shaun Pollock – 421 wickets in 108 Tests
Mkhaya Ntini – 390 wickets in 101 Tests
Kagiso Rabada – 332 wickets in 71* matches
The pacer was instrumental in bundling out the defending champions Australia for a meagre total of 212 in the first innings. He started with an opening burst, removing opener Usman Khawaja for a duck. The 30-year-old then picked up Cameron Green to jolt the Aussies.
Following the tea break, Rabada returned to pick up the crucial wicket of well-set Beau Webster to etch his name into history books.
With 331 wickets to his name, Rabada now eyes Dale Steyn’s record for the most wickets by a Proteas player in Tests.
South Africa were in a commanding position after removing Australia for 212 in their first innings.
Beau Webster was the top scorer for Australia with 72 runs, while Steve Smith played elegantly, scoring 66 runs.
Kagiso Rabada excelled with the ball for South Africa, taking five wickets for 51 runs in 15.4 overs, while Marco Jansen made a valuable contribution by claiming three wickets.
It’s worth noting that this marks the maiden appearance for South Africa in a WTC Final, after topping the points table with an impressive 69.44% points percentage, a campaign that saw them win 8 out of 12 Tests.
Meanwhile, Australia are standing on the brink of history, poised to become the first team ever to successfully defend their title in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).
They defeated India in a thrilling final during the last WTC cycle at The Oval back in 2023.
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