Kagiso Rabada walked off Lord’s with tears in his eyes last week. South Africa had just done something nobody expected them to do. They beat Australia in the biggest Test match of the year.
The fast bowler couldn’t hide his emotions during the post-match interviews. Twenty-seven years without winning anything major does that to you. This WTC Final victory felt different from any other win.
Rabada took nine wickets across both innings against the Australians. His bowling figures tell only part of the story though. The real battle happened inside his head throughout those five days.
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How Rabada Destroyed Australia’s Batting
The match started perfectly for Rabada and his bowling partners. Usman Khawaja fell early to a brilliant delivery that swung late. Cameron Green followed soon after with another top-class wicket.
Rabada’s five-wicket haul in the first innings broke Australia’s back. Each wicket came from good old-fashioned fast bowling rather than tricks. He kept hitting the right length and let his pace do damage.
The pressure got to him at times during the match. Doubt crept in when Australia fought back with partnerships. But Rabada pushed through those moments and kept taking wickets.
His nine wickets moved him up South Africa’s all-time bowling records. He’s now their fourth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket history. Not bad for someone who calls himself ordinary.
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This South African Team Surprised Everyone
“I don’t see myself as a star,” Rabada said honestly. “We are a fairly inexperienced team who got put together about a year ago, we have not been with each other for a long time, and we have gone on and produced this. I’ll never forget this in my life, none of the boys will forget this,” he said.
Most people wrote off South Africa before this tournament even started. They’d only been playing together as a group for twelve months. Experience usually wins these big matches, not raw talent.
But this young team had something different about their approach. They backed each other through tough periods when wickets weren’t falling. The older players like Rabada guided the younger ones perfectly.
Ending Twenty-Seven Years of Heartbreak
South Africa’s last major cricket trophy came way back in 1998. That’s longer than some current players have been alive. The pressure of that drought affected everyone involved with the team.
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Beating Australia made it even sweeter for the South African players. The Aussies have dominated world cricket for decades now. They’ve won everything worth winning multiple times over.
Rabada knows this victory changes everything for South African cricket going forward. The confidence boost alone will help them in future series. Lord’s gave them proof they can beat anyone anywhere.
