A total of 14 wickets fell at Lord's Wednesday as bowlers dominated an exciting opening day of the World Test Championship between South Africa and Australia.
Pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada collected his 17th five-wicket haul in Tests to help dismiss Australia for just 212, but the reigning WTC winners responded strongly through experienced trio Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood who combined to have South Africa in trouble at 43/4 at stumps with both sides well and truly in the contest.
Skipper Temba Bavuma (three) and No.6 David Bedingham (eight) remain unbeaten at the crease, with the pair still with plenty of work to do given the Proteas trail by 169 heading into the second day.
It was an enthralling day of Test cricket, with the momentum changing between the two finalists on numerous occasions and London's ever-changing weather also ensuring seeing the conditions took their turn in favouring bowlers and batters.
South Africa's bowlers that enjoyed the best of the overcast morning conditions, with Rabada (5/51) and Marco Jansen (3/49) picking up a pair of wickets each as the Aussies were reduced to 67/4 at lunch after Proteas skipper Bavuma won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Jansen got the prized wicket of Travis Head right on the stroke of lunch to give South Africa the ascendancy, but it was Australia that fought back during the middle session as firstly Steve Smith (66) and then Beau Webster (72) got on top to ensure Australia went to tea at 190/5 and with the prospect of a big score still within their sights.
But Rabada and Jansen had other ideas, with the pair returning to wrap up the tail as the Aussies lost 5/22 and leave South Africa in the box seat.
Australia's trusted fast bowling triumvirate of Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood had other ideas though, with the trio removing three of South Africa's batters prior to stumps to leave the one-off Test evenly poised.
Earlier, teams were greeted with overcast conditions at the iconic north London venue and Bavuma had no hesitation in giving his top-class pace attack the first chance to take advantage.
And Rabada repaid his captain with a pair of excellent deliveries that caught the outside edge, with Bedingham and Aiden Markram holding on to good catches in the slips to help South Africa's cause.
Jansen got in on the act when had Marnus Labuschagne (17) edging one through to Kyle Verreynne and the tall left-armer then got the prized wicket of Head for 11 with the final ball of the opening session when the Australian was caught down the leg side.
Smith helped his side gain the ascendancy and Webster and Alex Carey continued to score at will, until Rabada and Jansen once again combined to put South Africa in the box seat.
But Australia's bowlers had the last laugh, picking up four valuable wickets at the end of a long day to leave the race for the coveted mace delicately poised.
Both teams announced their playing XI Tuesday, with South Africa selecting Lungi Ngidi in front of Dane Paterson and Australia choosing to include Labuschagne as opener to partner with experienced left-hander Usman Khawaja.
It ends what was a gripping WTC cycle, where the Proteas won seven straight Test matches to seal their spot in the decider, while Australia will look to become the first team to claim back-to-back championships, with the concept commencing in 2019.
DAY 1
Australia 212 in 56.4 overs (Webster 72, Smith 66, Rabada 5/51, Jansen 3/49) lead South Africa 43/4 in 22 overs (Rickelton 16, Starc 2/10, Hazlewood 1/10, Cummins 1/14) by 169 runs
