AUS vs SA Highlights, WTC Final: Australia pace trinity keeps game in balance as South Africa 43/4 at stumps

AUS vs SA LIVE Score, WTC Final Australia vs South Africa: Kagiso Rabada ends Usman Khawaja's misery as he edges the ball behind the stumps to first slip, where Bedingham grabs a good catch. Khawaja didn't trouble the scorers here and departed for a duck after facing 20 balls. Horrible start for Australia in the final. AUS 12/1 in 6.3 overs

AUS vs SA LIVE Score, WTC Final Australia vs South Africa: Marnus Labuschagne is looking in control now and played Marco Jansen quite comfortably in the last over with a couple of doubles on the first two balls. AUS 11/0 in 6 overs

AUS vs SA LIVE Score, WTC Final Australia vs South Africa: Australia and Marnus Labuschagne are finally off the mark here. The makeshift Aussie opener took a double to release some pressure. Wait a minute, a late no-ball call by the umpire for the third delivery, while it was given a no-ball after the fourth delivery. Labuschagne also took a double on the fifth delivery. AUS 5/0 in 4 overs

AUS vs SA LIVE Score, WTC Final Australia vs South Africa: Three maidens to start the World Test Championship final. Kagiso Rabada didn't allow Usman Khawaja to free his arms and now the pressure to open the account is on both Aussie openers here. AUS 0/0 in 3 overs

AUS vs SA LIVE Score, WTC Final Australia vs South Africa:  Marco Jansen from the other end and he put Marnus Labuschagne quiet throughtout the over and it turned out to be another maiden for South Africa. Marnus showed solid technique to defend the ball confidently. AUS 0/0 in 2 overs

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: It's already kind of dark at Lord's at 10:30 in the morning local time with heavy cloud cover, and the lights are on early. With that in mind, good toss to win, but execution still important — and Rabada has it seaming around devilishly early in his spell. A couple of plays and misses early as he gets the most out of this somewhat dry surface.

Maiden to start.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: How good does it feel to see players in those crisp whites and cable-knit sweaters walk out into a late spring day in Great Britain, prepared for a grinding, five-day long battle that will put all their skills to the test?

We are ready to go.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: For as historic as this rivalry is, Australia and South Africa haven't had the opportunity to play each other too often in the recent past. Since the infamous, heated Sandpapergate series, they have only played one, that series going to the Aussies at home. But going back through their last 5 series, it's South Africa who have the narrowest edge.

The Proteas have won 7 Test matches in that span, while Australia have won 6. It's been back-and-forth, hotly-contested, and deserving of this rivalry. How much will that matter today? Who has the mental edge?

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Temba Bavuma flips, Cummins calls wrong, and the Protean skipper opts to bowl first in overhead conditions. Big call, and Cummins says he would have batted first — interesting! 

Action very soon.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: RCB ended an 18-year title drought. India won an ODI trophy after 12 years. In football, PSG won their first Champions League, and a team that is not too far from Lord's, Tottenham Hotspur, ended a 17-year trophy wait.

It has been the year of ending curses in sports, of teams who have had long, arduous waits finally having a moment to celebrate. There is certainly something in the air — and South Africa, whose only ICC trophy remains the 1998 ICC Knockout, will be hoping for a sip of that magic.

A moment where they could reckon with history. But the monstrous winning machine of Australia usually doesn't care. A real battle of titans.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: Cummins and Bavuma will be watching the pitch and the conditions VERY intently. The toss might be decisive. Who earns first go if it's swing and seam conducive as it usually is at Lord's? Which team is ready to put runs on the board? All-important toss just coming up.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: South Africa looking strong as well, with the surprise being all-rounder Wiaan Mulder being slotted in at number three . An interesting experiment, if the Proteas go ahead with it.

South Africa's playing XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verrynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: Both teams announced their playing XIs on the eve of the Test. Here is Australia's, with a strong all-round team bolstered by the return of Cameron Green, and supported by their host of veterans.

AUS WTC final XI: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: It is about time that the home of cricket welcomes what is the most high-stakes single Test match in a season. Lord's was intended to host the first-ever WTC final before Covid precautions meant it had to be moved to Southampton — but four years on, it finally gets its chance.

Lord's has hosted some iconic battles over the centuries, and has history packed into its very foundations. Will SA and AUS add to the lore with a classic this year?

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: In the opposite corner, it's a familiar foe, and one who have so consistently flirted with silverware that it's impossible to believe that they have never landed it. It's another chance for the Proteas to win a final, but there is a lot of scar tissue when it comes to facing Australia in key games. There are demons that need to be buried. Is Temba Bavuma, with all this talent at his disposal, the captain to do it?

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: It was not too long ago, only 2 years ago, and not too far away, across the city of London at the Kia Oval, that Australia trumped over India to hand the men in blue back-to-back WTC disappointments and clinch the Test mace. Now, they have a chance to add to their incredible ICC track record and win another.

You simply don't bet against the Aussies in big finals. Having experience of having done this before, they have the confidence and the experience, meaning it's something they will back themselves to do again.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: In the relatively recent history of this structure for Test cricket, the WTC already has a sense of prestige and importance. Boiling down two years of Test cricket into one winner-takes-all final, the stakes are incredibly high and adds a great sense of tension to the occasion.

It takes consistency and excellence to reach this stage, which means there is a lot of work that has gone into having a shot at the Test mace. There is no doubt that both sets of players will be immensely motivated.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: The stage is set at Lord's, where Australia are looking to defend their WTC crown against a South African team who have yet another chance of sealing an ICC trophy — but are coming up against a winning machine in their hopes to do so. Stay tuned as we bring you all the live updates from the build up.