After day two of the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s, South Africa’s position remains challenging despite Australia finishing at 144/8, holding a 218-run lead. The Proteas were earlier bowled out for 138 in their first innings, but their bowlers, particularly Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada, fought back to keep them in contention.Ngidi, who claimed three crucial wickets on day two, expressed confidence in the team’s ability to stay competitive despite the difficult situation.“We were still in the game. They did bowl really well, but at the end of the day, we still had a job to do. The coach asked us whatever we do, to do it with conviction, and if you go out, go out on your own terms. You can also be that guy to turn the game around for the team, that was the mindset,” Ngidi stated after the day’s play.The South African seamer acknowledged his initial struggles but explained how he overcame them with captain Bavuma’s support.
“It was tough in the first innings, there was no rhythm, it looked like I was fighting a lot while bowling. Couple of nerves coming back after tea, especially knowing who the guys were in the middle, but he (Bavuma) was asking me to do certain things, I just said let me get into my spell, let me get some rhythm and once I felt it was clicking I just kept running with it.”Ngidi drew energy from the crowd’s support during his extended bowling spell and remained optimistic about the team’s chances.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?“It was pretty exciting, I could hear my name in one of the corners, that’s what actually gives you energy when you are bowling such a long spell, the crowd gets behind and you keep going. We are in a good position now, two balls can wrap it up, and we are focusing on that. If we are chasing anything under 230.. It won’t be easy with the bowling line-up they have, but we want to give ourselves the best chance.”Kagiso Rabada continued his impressive performance, following his first-innings five-wicket haul for 51 runs with three more wickets on day two. This achievement elevated him to become South Africa’s fifth-leading wicket-taker across all formats.The match remains poised with Australia holding the advantage, but South Africa’s bowlers have kept their team’s hopes alive with a strong showing on day two.
