David Bedingham Confident in South Africa's Chase Against Australia in WTC Final

Bedingham's Optimism for the Fourth Innings

London [UK], June 13: David Bedingham from South Africa expressed strong confidence in the Proteas' capability to tackle any target set by Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. He emphasized that the team is approaching the fourth innings with a sense of belief.

The first two days of this thrilling final have showcased the fierce pace of the bowlers and the batters' struggle against the seam movement. After South Africa managed only 138 in response to Australia's 212 in the first innings, they made a remarkable comeback with a spirited bowling performance.

Lungi Ngidi proved his worth by taking crucial wickets, including those of Steven Smith, Beau Webster, and captain Pat Cummins. Meanwhile, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada intensified the pressure on Australia, who ended day two with a lead of 218 runs and only two wickets remaining.

Post-match, Bedingham reassured that the team, led by Temba Bavuma, is eager to embrace the challenge ahead. He stated, "This is an incredible opportunity, and we are all very excited about the chance to win. It could go either way, but our team is filled with belief and enthusiasm in the dressing room," as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

At the iconic Lord's, South African bowlers discovered the right strategy to trouble Australia under the overcast skies. The trio of Rabada, Jansen, and Ngidi had Australia in a precarious position at 73/7.

However, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc provided some resistance, forming a 61-run partnership that lifted the defending champions to 144/8 by the end of the day's play.

Bedingham remarked, "It’s been an incredible day. If you had told us we would have Australia at 220 for 8, we would have taken that. There’s a strong belief within this team."

Given the events of the last two days, batters have had to work hard for runs. Cummins noted that the batters needed to exert themselves to score. Bedingham, who was South Africa's top scorer with 45 runs off 111 balls in the first innings, concurred with Cummins but suggested that conditions might improve for batting on day three.

"With six quality seamers on a challenging pitch, batting is undoubtedly tough. However, as the game progresses, the pitch may ease up a bit, which could change the dynamics for the batters in the fourth innings. We hope to chase down those runs," he concluded.