Why Are SA & AUS Players Wearing Black Armbands On Day 3 Of WTC 2025 Final?

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Players from South Africa and Australia are wearing black armbands on Day 3 of the WTC 2025 final currently underway at Lord's.
Players from South Africa and Australia are wearing black armbands and observed a one-minute silence before the start of the third day's play of the WTC 2025 final currently underway at Lord's in memory of victims of the horrific plane air crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday (June 12). More than 200 people lost their lives in the Air India plane crash.
The ongoing WTC 2025 final between South Africa and Australia is evenly poised after the end of two days. The Aussies finished the second day's play at 144/8, and their total lead is 218 runs. The Aussies would like to bat as long as possible on Friday (June 13) and add as many runs as possible to their second innings score to set up a challenging target for South Africa to chase down in the fourth innings of the match.
Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon will resume the batting on Friday, and they will be followed by Josh Hazlewood. For South Africa, Kagiso Rabada has picked up 8 wickets in the match so far, and the 30-year-old fast bowler would aim to take two more wickets on Friday morning and complete his second five-wicket haul of the match.
The South Africans last won an ICC Trophy in 1998 when they defeated the West Indies in the ICC Champions Trophy final. Temba Bavuma's men topped the WTC 2023-25 cycle, and a win over the Aussies at the Home of Cricket will help them end their 27-year-long wait for a second ICC title.
Aussies, on the other hand, will again turn their heads to the star fast bowling trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins and expect them to help the Baggy Greens successfully defend the target.
First Published:
June 13, 2025, 16:04 IST

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