South African batter David Bedingham has expressed growing confidence within the team as they prepare for a crucial fourth-innings chase in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final at Lord’s. Speaking after Day 2, Bedingham said the Proteas are motivated and ready for the challenge ahead, with momentum on their side.
Day 2 witnessed a fierce comeback by South Africa, led by pace duo Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, who combined for six wickets to leave Australia reeling at 144/8 in their second innings. Despite Australia holding a 218-run lead, Bedingham believes the chase is achievable if they remove the last two batters quickly on Day 3.
“𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑩𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒎. “𝑰𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒐 𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎.”
A Crucial Role in Tough Conditions
Bedingham, who was one of the few batters to stand tall against the Aussie bowling attack, scored a gritty 45 off 111 balls in the first innings. His composure under pressure will be vital in South Africa’s pursuit of a historic win, especially given that teams have successfully chased over 250 at Lord’s on three occasions — twice in the 21st century.
Heading into the next phase of the match, Bedingham emphasized the importance of clarity and focus at the crease.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 100 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑨𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕.”
With belief running high and history within reach, South Africa will look to Bedingham and the rest of their batting unit to deliver a memorable fourth-innings performance in the WTC Final.
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