SA vs AUS WTC Final: What Are The Records Broken On Day 1 Of Summit Clash?

SA vs AUS WTC Final: Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2025 between South Africa and Australia at Lord's proved to be a rollercoaster as after being asked to bat first, Australia were bowled out for 212, but they bounced back strongly by reducing South Africa to 43 for 4 by stumps.

Beau Webster and Steve Smith were the standout performers with the bat for Australia, scoring 72 and 66 runs respectively. Kagiso Rabada wreaked havoc with the ball, picking up a five-wicket haul, while Marco Jansen chipped in with three scalps.

The day wasn't just about dramatic turns of play-it also saw several notable records being shattered. Here's a look at the key milestones reached on the opening day:

Day 1 Records and Milestones

Kagiso Rabada etched his name in the history books as only the second bowler after New Zealand's Kyle Jamieson to take a five-for in a WTC Final. His figures read 5 for 51 in 15.4 overs.

In doing so, Rabada overtook Allan Donald's tally of 330 Test wickets to move to 331 and become the fourth-highest wicket-taker for South Africa in the longest format, behind only Dale Steyn (439), Shaun Pollock (421), and Makhaya Ntini (390).

Rabada also became South Africa's leading wicket-taker in Tests at Lord's with 18 wickets across three appearances, surpassing Morne Morkel's total of 15.

Steve Smith continued to build his legacy by becoming the first player to aggregate over 200 runs in WTC finals. His tally now stands at 217 runs from just three innings.

With his 66-run knock, Smith went past Warren Bardsley to become the highest-scoring non-English batter in Test matches at Lord's. Smith now has 591 runs in six Tests at the iconic venue.

Smith also set a new benchmark for most 50+ scores in Tests on English soil by a visiting player. His 18 such scores took him past both Viv Richards and Allan Border, who each had 17.

Travis Head may have managed only 11 runs, but it was enough to lift him above Kumar Sangakkara (320) and Rohit Sharma (322) to become the second-highest run scorer in ICC finals. Head's total now stands at 329, behind only Virat Kohli with 411 runs.

With such a high-intensity start to the contest, fans can expect more history-making moments as the WTC final unfolds over the coming days at the Home of Cricket.