Ex-Proteas Star Dale Steyn In Awe Of South Africa Pacer Lungi Ngidi’s Spell In WTC 2025 Final Against Australia: 'He Just Needed A Wicket To Get Going'

WTC 2025 Final: Temba Bavuma-led South Africa are currently locking horns against Pat Cummins' Australia in the Final clash of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-2025, at the iconic Lord's, from June 11th.

It was South Africa that won the toss and decided to bowl in the summit clash. The Aussies made a solid start after batting first. With the help of Steve Smith and Beau Webster's half-centuries, Australia put up 212 on the scoreboard in the first inning.

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It was Kagiso Rabada's five-wicket and Marco Jansen's three-wicket hauls that gave the Proteas an upper hand in the game.

During South Africa's inning, the Proteas batters failed to perform on the crease as they fell prey to Pat Cummins' splendid spell. The Aussie skipper picked up six wickets on Day two and bundled out South Africa to 138.

Australia suffered in their second inning as they struggled to cross the 100-run mark. The South African bowling attack displayed a stunning performance. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi bagged three wickets each on Day two and held Australia to 144/8. Currently, Australia lead by 218 runs.

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Dale Steyn Heaps Praise On South African Pacer Lungi Ngidi

While speaking on JioHotstar, former South African speedster Dale Steyn showered praise on Lungi Ngidi, calling him a quality bowler. He added that the 29-year-old needed just one wicket to get going.

Steyn also decoded Ngidi's bowling action on Day two of the World Test Championship, saying that he had a slow approach and relied more on his body for pace.

“Lungi is a quality bowler—he just needed a wicket to get going. He hasn’t played much red-ball cricket recently and looked a bit rusty on Day 1, especially in his run-up. The second half of his approach was slow, making him rely more on his body for pace," Dale Steyn said on JioHotstar.

Lungi Ngidi Stats In Test Cricket

Lungi Ngidi made his Test debut for South Africa in 2018 against India. Following that, the pacer played 19 red-ball matches and 30 innings, picking up 55 wickets at an economy rate of 3.11.