logo
Wiaan Mulder Strikes Gold, Dismisses Travis Head For 9 In WTC Final

Wiaan Mulder Strikes Gold, Dismisses Travis Head For 9 In WTC Final

News1821 hours ago

Last Updated:
Wiaan Mulder dismissed Travis Head for nine runs, causing Australia's innings to collapse to 66/6 despite their lead.
Star South African all-rounder Wiaan Mulder dealt Australia a massive blow as he dismissed danger-man Travis Head for just nine runs in the second innings, to see Australia's innings take a massive nosedive even after they had bagged a healthy lead at the end of South Africa's innings.
Head was bowled by Mulder in the 24th over of Australia's second innings, as they slumped to 66/6.
After a dismal performance with the bat earlier in the day, Kagiso Rabada brought South Africa back into the match with a double strike just before tea.
Head could score just 11 runs in the first innings and Australia massively depended on him to build a partnership with Steve Smith and give the innings some semblance after they had been reduced to 44/3 in the 18th over.
But Smith was caught plumb by Lungi Ngidi in the 19th over and just over four overs later, Head's stumps were rattled by Mulder.
It was a brilliant ball from around the wicket from Mulder. It had a wobbly seam and good length, pitching outside off and nipped back past the inside edge.
The ball first hit the pad and then crashed into the off stump as Head cut a disappointed figure. Watch the video here:
In the first innings, Head was dismissed by Marco Jansen.
Earlier, Australia skipper Pat Cummins produced a brilliant spell of four wickets for just one run in the World Test Championship final before Kagiso Rabada struck twice to keep South Africa in the match.
South Africa were bowled out for a paltry 138 in reply to Australia's first innings total of 212 on Day 2 at the Lord's. Mulder scored just six runs off 44 balls before being dismissed by Cummins.
Cummins finished with figures of 6/28 as he reached 300 career Test wickets. South Africa lost their last five wickets for 12 runs, with a farcical run out not helping their cause, as Cummins ripped through the lower order on his way to a 14th five-for in 68 Tests and first at the Lord's.
Get latest Cricket news, live score and match results on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated!

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Mitchell Starc Creates History, Becomes 1st Cricketer In The World To...
Mitchell Starc Creates History, Becomes 1st Cricketer In The World To...

News18

time33 minutes ago

  • News18

Mitchell Starc Creates History, Becomes 1st Cricketer In The World To...

Last Updated: Starc remained unbeaten on 58 runs for Australia in the 2nd innings of the WTC 2025 final. During his stay at the crease, Starc faced 136 balls and hammered five fours. Mitchell Starc came out to bat at No. 9 for Australia in the second innings of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final currently underway at Lord's against South Africa and scored 58 runs. During his stay at the crease, Starc faced 136 deliveries and hammered five fours. He added 59 runs for the 10th wicket with Josh Hazlewood to help the Aussies post a total of 207 runs in the second innings and set up a target of 282 for South Africa to chase down in the fourth innings of the match. By scoring a half-century for Australia in the 2nd innings, Starc entered his name in the history books as he became the first No. 9 batter in the world to score a half-century in a knockout match of an ICC event across formats. Before Starc, the record of the highest score by a No. 9 batter or below in an ICC knockout match was in the name of South Africa's Rory Kleinveldt. Kleinveldt scored 43 runs from 61 balls for South Africa as the No. 10 batter in the first semifinal of the 2013 Champions Trophy at The Oval. Starc's unbeaten 58-run knock also helped him break former West Indies wicketkeeper Courtney Browne's record of highest score by a No. 9 batter in ICC finals. During the 2004 Champions Trophy final between England and the West Indies at The Oval, Browne remained unbeaten on 35 runs from 55 balls for the Brian Lara-led side. Starc, who is one of the best bowlers of all time, had earlier added 61 runs for the eighth wicket with Alex Carey (43 runs from 50 balls) to help Australia bounce back from 73/7 in 24.5 overs and post a challenging total for the Proteas. The left-handed batter was caught behind by Alex Carey after making 6 runs from 8 balls off Starc's bowling. The incident took place on the first ball of the third over of South Africa's 2nd innings in the second session of the third day. First Published: June 13, 2025, 18:20 IST

Yograj Singh Slams Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma For Untimely Test Retirements: "Baton Thrown At..."
Yograj Singh Slams Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma For Untimely Test Retirements: "Baton Thrown At..."

NDTV

timean hour ago

  • NDTV

Yograj Singh Slams Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma For Untimely Test Retirements: "Baton Thrown At..."

Former India cricketer Yograj Singh has questioned star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma over the timing of their retirements from Test cricket. Both Kohli and Rohit retired from the format last month, days before India's squad was announced for the upcoming five-match Test series against England. While Rohit's retirement was more or less expected, Kohli's announcement came as a big shock to many. During a recent interaction, Yograj, father of former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, insisted both Kohli and Rohit had five years of Test cricket left in them. "Virat and Rohit shouldn't have retired from Tests. I told Rohit to get up at 5 AM and run for 20 km to keep himself fit. Virat and Rohit can still play for another 5 years in Test cricket. They should have played," Yograj told InsideSport. Yograj fumed over the fact that Kohli and Rohit did not hand over the baton to the youngsters. "They should be there to see that the baton is passed to the youngsters, just like Sourav Ganguly did. The baton has not been passed, it has been thrown to Gill," he added. Yograj also opened up on Yuvraj's retirement, revealing that his son also took a hasty decision instead of following his advice. "Even when Yuvraj was retiring I promised him that I will help him become India captain and that we will throw everybody out but he quit," Yograj revealed. The Test tour of England will also be right-handed batter Shubman Gill 's first assignment as the captain of the Indian team, following the retirement of Rohit Sharma last month. At 25 years and 258 days, Gill will also become the fifth-youngest cricketer to captain India in Tests. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will be India's vice-captain on the all-important Test series, which runs from June 20 to August 4. India and England will also play matches at Edgbaston in Birmingham, Lord's in London, Old Trafford in Manchester and The Oval in London. India are aiming to win a Test series in England for the first time since 2007. The Test series in England will also be India's first assignment in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.

Pat Cummins' dominance with the new and old ball make him ever-lethal at every stage in Tests
Pat Cummins' dominance with the new and old ball make him ever-lethal at every stage in Tests

Indian Express

timean hour ago

  • Indian Express

Pat Cummins' dominance with the new and old ball make him ever-lethal at every stage in Tests

'Cool. No worries.' The words well attest to the utmost calmness that Patrick Cummins brings with the red ball to the Australian attack. They also formed the 2023 World Test Championship-winning captain's genial response after England great Jimmy Anderson snubbed him for South Africa's Kagiso Rabada for the better bowler between the two on the eve of a second successive WTC final. Amidst precipitous batting from both parties at Lord's stood Cummins, orchestrating Thursday's devastation. His innings-closing dismissal of Rabada handed Australia a decisive 74-run first-innings lead, his 300th Test scalp and a special six-wicket haul (6/28), bowling first-change in a legendarily stacked bowling unit. In only eight years after a five-and-a-half-year absence due to injuries, Cummins has rewritten the record books, as bowler and leader, and established new benchmarks for the concept of the most complete Test fast bowlers of the time. Of course, there are contenders to the title (read Jasprit Bumrah or Rabada), but Cummins' leadership nous and sustained bowling presence throughout an innings offer him an edge, with his senses attuned to the most heightened challenges. If one were to nitpick shortcomings, Cummins has left negligible space to explore during his rapid ascent since 2017. Perhaps the middling average in Asia leaves scope for improvement. But for his five-star redemption, the general feeling would be of retrospection. Where could Cummins have been by now, if not for his 1946-day absence between two Test appearances for Australia? By being only the fifth-quickest ever to reach 300 Test wickets – the fastest Australian while at it – Cummins has somewhat answered what the cricket world potentially missed between 2012-16. His 45.75 bowling strike rate (13,725 deliveries) for 300 strikes is only bettered by four out-and-out pace guns in Test history; in Rabada, Waqar Younis, Dale Steyn and Allan Donald. But like the refreshingly modern output of batting with several gears, Cummins' qualities to adapt through different phases with the constantly changing shape and behaviour of the red ball put him in a special bracket. The latest Lord's haul was characteristic of the quality. After snapping up No. 3 Wiaan Mulder during his first spell as first change behind Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in the 15th over, Cummins returned his second scalp in the 40th, nipping his counterpart Temba Bavuma in a match-defining moment. Returning post-lunch with a relatively older ball, Cummins razed the Proteas lower-order down with a hellish spell that eventually read 4.1-1-2-4, concocting his lengths and variations to unplayable levels. It is this secondary art with the typically seam-softening old ball, the Dukes or Kookaburra, no matter, that makes Cummins a distinct outlier, capable of producing the best of both worlds. For a quick that can still hit the high 140-kphs, Cummins is a rare first change (No. 3) success that has already propelled him to third in the all-time charts. Only Ian Botham and Morne Morkel have churned out more wickets at No. 3 than Cummins' 107. The 32-year-old's 24.50 average and a wicket every 50 balls place him ahead of both Botham and Morkel. 73 of these strikes have been born in the WTC era, which serves as a brilliant microcosm that exemplifies Cummins' dominance with the new and old ball. Topping all pacers thus far in the WTC with 201 scalps, 160 have occurred within the first 80 overs of the innings. Sifting adeptly between the dual roles, Cummins tops all pacers across both phases. Bowling 621 overs across three WTC cycles with the new ball (0-25), Cummins has racked up 70 wickets, averaging 23.73. His efficiency progresses with the innings, breaking down batting orders with a 47.1 strike rate and 90 scalps with the semi-old and old balls between overs 26 and 80 of an innings. While there are a few contenders to match his new-ball efficacies, where he remains the highest wicket-taking pacer in the WTC, the old-ball competition dwindles to a select list where the wily Australian still dominates the wickets column. For a minimum of 50 WTC wickets with the old ball, only Bumrah, Rabada, and Hazlewood join Cummins in the sub-50 strike rate and sub-25 average club among pacers. The chilling efficiency unsettles most batting orders, for there are no easy overs when Cummins loads up at any hour of the day. As Captain Cummo closes in on another ICC silverware, watch out for another episode of that distinct duality, some new ball spice, and old-ball sorcery. Lalith Kalidas is a Senior Sub-Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Working with the online sports desk, Lalith specializes in the happenings on the cricket field, with a particular interest in India's domestic cricket circle. He also carries an affinity towards data-driven stories and often weaves them into cricketing contexts through his analysis. Lalith also writes the weekly stats-based cricket column - 'Stats Corner'. A former cricketer who has played in state-level tournaments in Kerala, he has over three years of experience as a sports journalist. Lalith also covered the 2023 ODI World Cup held in India. ... Read More

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store