Australia captain Pat Cummins said his side had been faced with a "bridge too far" after losing the World Test Championship final to South Africa at Lord's on Saturday.
When Temba Bavuma went out to bat on Day 3 of the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia on Friday, the odds were firmly against him and his side.
At 70/2 in the second session of the third day of the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025, Australia seemed to have advantage on a surface that had done quite a bit over the first two days of the Test.
Mitchell Starc made South Africa pay for a dropped catch with a vital fifty on Friday as Australia set the Proteas 282 to win the World Test Championship final at Lord's.
The defending champions already have a 218-run lead with two second innings wickets in hand and resume on Friday looking to add more to make South Africa’s task even harder.
Kagiso Rabada took five wickets as South Africa dismissed Australia for 212 after tea on Wednesday's opening day of the World Test Championship final at Lord's.
Former England captain Michael Atherton said "everyone knows the WTC in its present guise is flawed".
Australia quick Scott Boland has admitted he remains in the dark whether he will win a spot in the playing XI for his side's ICC World Test Championship defence against South Africa at Lord's next week.
Green was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back during the one-day international series in England last year and had surgery in October but returned playing for Gloucestershire in English county cricket last month.
South Africa fast bowler says plans are in already in motion in their quest to take the World Test Championship mace off Australia at Lord's in June.
The Test had a finish more like that of a Twenty20 match as the tailenders delivered success after South Africa had slumped dramatically before lunch and seen Pakistan on the verge of success.
The chaotic results column is overall a good sign for Test cricket.
India now trail Australia, and their percentage points (PCT) is dangerously close to Sri Lanka and New Zealand, who are in third and fourth spot respectively. With a five-Test series against Australia in Australia coming up, India's place in the top two could be in jeopardy.
Through three World Cup titles, two World Test Championship (WTC) finals, and a 12-year Test series winning streak on home soil, Kohli and Sharma, often together, have been integral to every major Indian success of the last 17 years.
India and Australia remain in the top two spots on the standings and a repeat of the memorable 2023 final at The Oval remains a distinct possibility.
A 2-0 clean sweep of Pakistan has propelled Bangladesh into the top four and neck-deep in the running for a World Test Championship Final spot.
It will be the first time Lord's will host the one-off test played between the two highest-ranked sides in the five-day format, with previous finals taking place at Southampton's Rose Bowl and The Oval in London.
Bangladesh have moved to fourth position on the World Test Championship (2023-25) table following their historic 2-0 series victory away in Pakistan on Monday.
Despite starting the cycle with back-to-back Test wins, over Afghanistan and New Zealand respectively, Bangladesh are going to need everything to go their way if they are to reach a first World Test Championship final.
