South Africa are brimming with confidence as they chase what could be a remarkable win in the World Test Championship final, according to batter David Bedingham.
After being bowled out for just 138 in response to Australia’s first-innings score of 212, the Proteas found themselves in trouble. However, a dramatic turnaround late on day two saw the South African bowlers reduce Australia to 144-8 in their second innings, leaving the contest finely balanced with a lead of 218 runs.
Australian skipper Pat Cummins acknowledged the tight nature of the game, saying the match is “50-50” heading into day three.
Bedingham, who top-scored for South Africa with 45 in the first innings, expressed great enthusiasm and confidence in his team’s chances.
“𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚, 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒏. 𝑰𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒐 𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒚,” 𝑩𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒎 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅. “𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔, 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒘𝒆’𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 144-8. 𝑺𝒐 𝒘𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎.”
Batting Strategy for Day Three
Despite the uphill task — chasing what could be the fifth-highest fourth-innings total at Lord’s — South Africa remain positive. Bedingham suggested that the key will be to show attacking intent when they begin their second innings.
He stressed the importance of commitment in their approach, saying:
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕 — 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒖𝒕.”
With the match hanging in the balance, South Africa’s combination of belief, strategy, and momentum could pave the way for a historic victory at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.
