London, June 13 (Reporter) A fighting half-century from Mitchell Starc propelled Australia to 207 in their second innings on the third morning of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final at Lord’s, setting South Africa a stiff target of 288 runs for victory. Starc remained unbeaten on 58, adding a crucial 59 runs for the last wicket with Josh Hazlewood (17), frustrating the Proteas attack under bright skies. The duo’s defiant partnership ensured Australia extended their lead and ended their innings just before lunch on Day 3. Kagiso Rabada provided South Africa with an early breakthrough, dismissing Nathan Lyon for 2 and taking his tally to nine wickets in the match. However, the pace quartet, including Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen, failed to extract the same venom from the pitch, which now seems to have eased into a favourable surface for batting. South Africa now face a formidable challenge of chasing down the highest total of the match to lift the WTC mace. The Proteas, who reached the final after a dominant campaign featuring seven consecutive Test wins, will look to their top order to anchor the chase and script a historic comeback. Australia, meanwhile, will bank on their seasoned bowling unit led by skipper Pat Cummins to defend the total and become the first team to win back-to-back WTC titles since the tournament's inception in 2019. The final marks the culmination of a thrilling WTC cycle, and both teams remain firmly in the contest as the match heads into its decisive phase...////...