Brook's innings was by no means chanceless -- Tom Latham and Tim Southee both missed one good chance to take a thick edge in the slips -- but he rode his luck to bring up his 10th Test half century with a six.
'So there was some good fight there and they got some rewards late in the day. So yeah, I think both teams will be pleased with their efforts.'
Travis Head scored his second successive hundred while veteran Steve Smith wore the opposition down with a statement century to put Australia in control
It means the inaugural World Test Championship winners face a tough ask to qualify for next year's one-off Test in June 2025, with two wins against England and several other results also needing to go their way if they are to reach the Lord's decider.
'As a captain it makes my life a lot easier knowing you've got lots of settled players there.'
Taking aim at senior players like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, captain Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, among others, he said that if their aim was to prolong their send-offs till after the Ashes, it was a wrong mindset.
Batting under lights on a lively track, Australia then suffered a collapse of their own and finished day two on 99-6 for an overall lead of 181 as they look to complete a series sweep.
After his fifty, social media was abuzz that this could be Rohit's final appearance in an ODI.
That said the pitch is going to get challenging for the batters as the game wears on.
Spinner Maheesh Theekshana's hat-trick was in vain as New Zealand clinched the three-match One-Day International series against Sri Lanka with a game to spare after a 113-run victory in a rain-shortened second one-day international in Hamilton on Wednesday.
Joe Root has reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Men's Test Batting Rankings after his stellar efforts helped England secure a 22-run victory over India at Lord's, according to the official website of the ICC.
Alex Carey scored 63 and Beau Webster 60 as Australia were bowled out for 286. West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph took 4 wickets for 61 runs on Day 1 of the second Test.
Former captain Tim Paine has been appointed coach of the Australia 'A' team for this season with the country approaching a transition to a new generation of players as a handful of Test stalwarts near retirement.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the WTC Final between Australia and South Africa at Lord's on Wednesday
Change will be a key theme for both the West Indies and Australia in their upcoming three-Test series in the Caribbean with the visitors set to field a remodelled batting line-up and the hosts being led out for the first time by Roston Chase.
A confident New Zealand side will be eager to seal a semi-final spot when they take on Bangladesh, who will be fighting for survival, in their Champions Trophy Group A match in Rawalpindi on Monday.
Australia took the upper hand in the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's, ending day two on 144-8 in their second innings with a lead of 218 runs after wickets tumbled freely again on Thursday.
Speaking ahead of the first Test from June 25 onwards at Barbados, Joseph said as quoted by Sydney Morning Herald, "To take 13 wickets across the series was a good feeling. A lot has changed. There were a lot of opportunities that came my way."
Tim Southee is eyeing the third Test against England as his swan song in the format but will make himself available for selection if the Black Caps make the WTC final next year.
Australia will have to dust off the cobwebs but are still fancied to successfully defend their World Test Championship crown against equally ring-rusty South Africa in the final at Lord's.
Former No. 1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja would open the innings for Australia in the WTC final against South Africa while the fit-again Cameron Green would bat at the No. 3 position.
Australia's opening partnership has been the subject of much debate since David Warner retired and remains unresolved less than a month before the World Test Championship final against South Africa.
The star batter's aggression has been a fire to forge inspiration and motivation, but it has also led to some unnecessary controversies in the red-ball format.
Skipper Pat Cummins, who missed the tour of Sri Lanka due to the birth of his second child in February and was also ruled out of the Champions Trophy campaign with an ankle injury, will take the reins against South Africa.
Brazil's Fluminense continued their fairy-tale run at the Club World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal on Friday in Orlando, Florida, to book their place in the semi-finals.
Starc's withdrawal comes after pace stalwarts Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were ruled out due to injuries.
With 539 scalps in 134 matches at an average of 30.39 and best figures of 5/39, Lyon is the seventh-highest wicket-taker in Tests and has 24 five-wicket hauls and five ten-wicket hauls.
Australia will be aiming to become the first-ever side to defend their ICC WTC mace as they take on Proteas in the 'Ultimate Test' from June 11 onwards at Lord's.
Apart from Renshaw's inclusion in place of Warner, there are no changes to the squad which beat Pakistan by eight wickets in the third and final test to sweep the series 3-0 last week.
New Zealand and South Africa, both laden with world-class talent but often falling short in ICC tournaments, will face off in a tightly contested Champions Trophy semifinal.
Aiden Markram scored an unbeaten century as South Africa edged tantalisingly close to an unlikely success in the World Test Championship final, needing 69 runs to dethrone Australia after reaching 213-2 at stumps on the third day at Lord's on Friday.
Nathan Lyon donates bats signed by Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah to support cricketers with disability
Young spin-bowling all-rounder Cooper Connolly will replace injured Matthew Short in the Australian squad for the knock-out stages of the ongoing Champions Trophy.
Rohit Sharma's aggressive batting and Shubman Gill's calculated approach have formed a formidable opening partnership for India in ODIs.
Successful in keeping opponents and vitriol at bay so far, India will have to rise above traditional bugbear New Zealand and a rigmarole of emotions surrounding stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to reclaim the Champions Trophy after 12 years in Dubai on Sunday.
Ashwell Prince, South Africa's batting coach, labelled Aiden Markram as the "man for the big occasion" after the opener steered the Proteas towards what could be a famous run-chase in the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia on Friday.
Dimuth Karunaratne's Test career ended in a whimper as Sri Lanka's most prolific Test opener fell caught behind to Kuhnemann after making 14.
England took charge of the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday, riding Harry Brook's 171 to a first-innings lead of 151 before reducing the Black Caps to 155/6 on Day 3.
Australia's historic pedigree in cricket's biggest tournaments will count for nothing when they run into an Afghanistan side that is fast cementing its place in the game's top table in the Champions Trophy match in Lahore on Friday.
Leg spinner Adam Zampa was the most experienced bowler for the Aussies, having played 111 ODIs.
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