"Rabada performs better than Bumrah when it matters the most"- Fans praise Kagiso Rabada after his 5-wicket haul in SA vs AUS 2025 WTC final

Fans online heaped praise on South African pacer Kagiso Rabada after his magnificent bowling performance in the first innings of the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. The Lord's Cricket Ground in London is hosting the game, which commenced on Wednesday, June 11.

After opting to bowl first, Kagiso Rabada started with three consecutive maidens. He then dismissed Usman Khawaja (0) and Cameron Green (4) in his fourth over, kicking off things in style for the Proteas in the championship match. He continued to keep things tight with the ball in the company of Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder, making life difficult for the Australian batters.

Steve Smith (66) and Beau Webster (72) fought valiantly in the middle order and scored half-centuries. They ensured the defending champions were on track for a decent first innings total.

Rabada came back in the third session with another brilliant spell, sending Beau Webster back to the pavilion to trigger a lower-order collapse. He then scalped the wickets of Pat Cummins (1) and Mitchell Starc (1) to complete his five-wicket haul. His spell helped South Africa bundle out Australia for 212 in the first innings.

Cricket fans were impressed with Kagiso Rabada's bowling performance on day 1 of the WTC final. They applauded him through their X (formerly known as Twitter) posts. Here are some of the top reactions:

"If we remove Bumrah's IPL hype & performance then we'll realise Rabada performs better than Bumrah when it matters the most," a fan opined.

"Rabada is The best bowler of this generation. He never went Wicketless in the finals," a fan wrote.

"Rabada is amazing because he takes the least amount of balls to take a wicket when compared to every single other bowler to have ever played test cricket Not the best in this era... the best out of EVERYONE to have ever played test cricket," South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi wrote on X.

"Kagiso Rabada is the most underrated bowler of the current generation; you never see anyone giving him GOAT shoutouts!" a fan wrote.

"Heavy is the head that wears the crown. King Rabada with another clinic at the home of cricket , 5 wicket haul as he tore the Australian batsman apart. Weight of a nation on his shoulders ,he never hides away. The best in the world , generational," a fan wrote.

"Man, Kagiso Rabada really has lived up to every hope I had when I first saw him play. After Dale Steyn, we had no right to have another fast bowler this good, this tough, so soon," a fan wrote.

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Australia ended Day 1 on top by reducing South Africa to 43/4 at stumps in 2025 WTC final

Veteran left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc provided an early breakthrough to Australia in the very first over of the second innings. He dismissed South Africa opener Aiden Markram for a six-ball duck. Ryan Rickelton also perished in Starc's bowling later in the ninth over after failing to build on his start of 16 (23). It left his side in a spot of bother at 19/2.

Wiaan Mulder (6) and Tristan Stubbs (2) also reached the pavilion soon after without scoring much. Temba Bavuma (3) and David Bedingham (8) remained unbeaten at the stumps as South Africa reached 43/4, still trailing by 169 runs.