Bedingham Leads South Africa's Fightback in Test Final

In a gritty display, David Bedingham anchored South Africa's innings, guiding them to 121/5 by the end of the first session on Day 2 against Australia in the prestigious World Test Championship Final. As the players broke for lunch, Bedingham remained unbeaten on 39 alongside wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne, who was not out at 11, extending their crucial sixth-wicket partnership to 27 runs.

Beginning the day at a precarious 43/4, South African skipper Temba Bavuma and Bedingham laid a steady foundation. South Africa crossed the 50-run mark in the 24th over, thanks in part to Bavuma's aggressive stroke play against Mitchell Starc. Bedingham found his first boundary off Starc in the 27th over. A moment of worry for Bavuma came in the subsequent over when he was adjudged LBW off Josh Hazlewood, only to survive on review due to an UltraEdge spike indicating no contact with the bat.

The Bavuma-Bedingham partnership reached a milestone as they put together 50 runs by the 34th over. By the 35th over, the scoreboard read 87/4, with Bavuma contributing 36 from 79 deliveries. However, Bavuma's innings ended after falling to a sharp catch by Marnus Labuschagne off the bowling of Pat Cummins. This brought Kyle Verreynne to the crease. Earlier, on Day 1, Australia had recovered to post 212, succeeding in placing South Africa in a tough spot at 43/4, largely due to stellar seam bowling from their attack.

(With inputs from agencies.)