WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Highlights: Aiden Markram hits century as South Africa in driving seat at stumps

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Beau Webster into the attack! Four runs came off the over. Aiden Markram's batting approach has been quite impressive so far, while Temba Bavuma is also complementing him well. SA 172/2 in 41 overs

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Another boundary from Aiden Markram's willow as South Africa have taken control over this chase and Australia desperately need a wicket to bounce back. SA 160/2 in 39 overs

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: 150 up for South Africa! 4byes as the Proteas are strengthening their position in the game now with every passing over. The partnership between two batters keeps getting stronger - 84. SA 154/2 in 38 overs

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: These two are batting superbly, not presenting even a half-chance to the Australians, aware that they won't need two looks to take it.

137-2, 145 runs needed.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Ball not doing much at all for Australia, they need to find some inspiration from somewhere. This pair finding it easy to rotate strike and pick up runs despite Bavuma's strain. 172 more needed to win, Markram having reached 55*.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Welcome back to the evening session. This game will go into day four, but this will be the most important session of the game. Australia will want at least three wickets to feel confident. Any fewer than that, and another 80-90 runs, and South Africa will fancy their chances of getting it done tomorrow. This session for the game, for the trophy.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Extended break in play as Temba Bavuma pulls up and needs his hamstring nursed. He's soldiering on, but really struggling in the middle to complete runs. But the captain will want to put his body on the line, he knows that's key.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Yikes! The slips have been creeping further and further in because of the lack of carry in the pitch, but this one has flown off the edge of Bavuma's bat. Goes throat high at Smith, who is too close in react in time. He has the helmet on, but he still has to go off the field and recover.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Everything this man touches turns to gold today! Brought back on, and forces a false shot from Wiaan Mulder, who chips it to cover.

70-2, Temba Bavuma to the crease.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Good job from this pair not to let the pressure build. Captivating cricket, but Australia will begin to get slightly concerned.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Good start from South Africa despite the early wicket. Making some inroads against the new ball and giving Cummins something to think about. Both batters looking solid, and Nathan Lyon is introduced.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Much better from South Africa in terms of scoring rate with Markram still in. Picking on anything loose. 28-1 after 5, Markram looking good.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: There's the early wicket! Rickelton won't be happy. Overpitched and wide, there to be hit, but Rickelton can only edge it. Nice grab taken by Australia, and they are ahead in the game now. Careful cricket needed from South Africa.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Welcome back. Incredible match poised here. Markram and Rickelton with bat in hand. Mitchell Starc with a brand new Dukes. 282 the target. Here we go!

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Aiden Markram's innocuous off-spin does the trick! Loose from Hazlewood after doing so well, chips it straight to cover.

Starc with a terrific show to remain 58*. And what a beautifully balanced target this is with the pitch kinder to batting. Starc and Hazlewood will be back out soon with the fresh pill, after the break for lunch.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: One of the most important rearguard half-centuries of all time. Once again, he came in at 73-7. Now it's 201-9. Plenty of patience and grit, but responsibility and backbone that has been the soul of Australian success for decades.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: South Africa struggling to makeanything happen. This pair looking very comfortable. Starc on 46*(114), what a valuable hand this is.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: Keshav Maharaj tossed the ball with this pair blunting the pacers successfully. No ten-fer for Kagiso Rabada just yet, and every run now will hurt. At least some solace in the pitch being docile.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: South Africa showing good patience, but Australia's last pair ekeing out these runs. Partnership onto 22. Starc into the 30s.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: South Africa spreading the field a bit, but Hazlewood and Starc both playing within themselves. This pitch is certainly slower and lower than the last two days.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Score: One of the two they need down! Rabada beats him for pace, and Lyon is caught on his crease. Easy LBW decision. Can Rabada snap up another for the 10-fer?

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: The players onto the field, wearing black armbands. A quiet moment of reflection to pay respects to those who lost their lives in the horrific accident in Ahmedabad yesterday. Respect that crosses borders in this beautiful game of ours. And we are ready to go with Kagiso Rabada.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: That's the million dollar question. Who do you back? A team with the winning habit as solidly formed as Australia, with their four horsemen running havoc? Or this steely, determined South Africa, in a year of teams under drought breaking those losing streaks? Let's find out.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: A reminder of the two teams on show in this contest:

SA XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada

AUS XI: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cam Green, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: Teams will be putting up their final preparations. Mitchell Starc will have a dual role today — deploy the long handle to try and get some bonus runs, before returning soon after to put the SA top order through hell. South Africa will be wary of not leaking too many runs, but you feel the focus will already be on the batting for the Proteas.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: In the long and stories history of the Lord's Cricket Ground, only thrice has 219+ been chased down. Most recently was in 2022, when a freshly-minted Bazball team ran down 279 against the Kiwis. It's still a daunting task given the quality of Aussie bowling, but the Proteas will know it's still within their hands, especially as the pitch begins to flatten out a touch on day three, but before it begins to wear down later in the Test. Can they take advantage of beneficial conditions?

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: Cummins had dismissed Mulder and Bavuma already, but it was his ferocious post-lunch spell that will long be remembered in Test history. In a matter of minutes, Cummins tore through the South African lower-middle order, dismissing Verreynne and Jansen in the same over, removing Bedingham soon after, and putting a bow on proceedings by bumping out Rabada.

Cummins became the player with the best figures at Lord's as captain, while also reaching 300 career Test wickets, the eighth Aussie to do so after a remarkable afternoon.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: The morning session was yet another one that South Africa took control of, with their overnight pair ensuring that the deficit came down into the 90s. However, Bavuma's dismissal meant the Australia had nearly worked its way through to the tail. While Bedingham batted well, he couldn't hold off the one-man storm that was to come…

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: Alex Carey continued his streak of important lower order knocks in WTC finals and in England, scoring 43(50) to push the lead beyond 200 for his team. A crucial 61-run partnership with Starc, in which he scored at a quick rate and frustrated South Africa, ensured that his team would have something to defend and to bowl at — and definitely a knock that could prove to be absolutely crucial.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: Kagiso Rabada got things going after a deflating post-lunch batting performance, as he removed Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green in the same over for a pair of early breakthroughs. After Marco Jansen dismissed Marnus Labuschagne, it was the Lungi Ngidi show in the third session: in a space of just a few brief overs, he trapped Steven Smith and Beau Webster, before castling Pat Cummins. Wiaan Mulder also swung an absolute beauty right through Travis Head, meaning all four of South Africa's seamers contributed to a terrific showing at Lord's on day two.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: At the end of day two, Australia found themselves pushing the lead beyond 200, something they would have taken at 73-7 in the third innings. However, they weren't able to bat South Africa out of the game, something they would have expected to do after a 74-run first innings lead. A stellar bowling performance means South Africa stay alive, and it likely won't be too daunting a target if they can efficiently wrap up the tail.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: The story of this match has thus far been two phenomenal sets of bowlers making the absolute most of a spicy pitch with something in it, with the overcast conditions and the famous Lord's slope providing ideal an ideal fast bowling climate. While the ability to hit lines and lengths has been key, they have also been helped out by some complacent and passive batting by both sides, allowing the opposition to really clamber into them with their relentless pace.

14 wickets each on the first two days, only 12 left to play with for the remainder of this match.

WTC Final 2025, SA vs AUS Live Updates: It all boils down to this. 28 wickets split evenly across the first two days mean we are headed to a rapid conclusion to this WTC Final, and it will come down to a simple head-to-head: Australia's red-hot bowling against South Africa's talented batting. Today will be a dramatic, climactic display of cricket, and here are all the updates throughout the day as this match reaches a crescendo.