‘No Rohit Sharma, No Party’

The WTC Final 2025 between Australia and South Africa at Lord’s had a thrilling first session on Day 1, as the Proteas reduced the defending champions to 67-4 in a great display of bowling in the opening session. The last wicket of the session was that of Travis Head, who edged one down leg side off Marco Jansen but had to depart thanks to an excellent catch from wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne. 

The dismissal was a big one when you consider the impact that Head had on the previous WTC Final – coming in to bat in his usual position, he slammed a century in the first innings against India and it was a knock that turned the tide of the tie in favour of the Aussies. 

But the lack of impact he had this time around led to many an Indian fan on social media to celebrate – and in the process threw some shade the way of former India Test captain Rohit Sharma. 

Many expected that the team who won the toss would opt to bat first, given no team wants to be batting last in a Test match. However, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma had other ideas. 

He opted to bowl first, a decision motivated by the fact that there was significant cloud cover over Lord’s and he wanted to give his bowlers a chance at wreaking some havoc. 

And that is exactly what happened in many ways – Kagiso Rabada struck twice early on to remove Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green, while Marco Jansen got rid of Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head. 

It meant that Australia’s lower-order was exposed far before they would have liked it to be, and the Proteas – who it is worth noting have not won an ICC trophy since 1998 – were in peak position.