Aiden Markram’s century helped South Africa upset defending champions Australia by five wickets and win the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 at The Lord’s Cricket Ground on Saturday.
This was their first title win since 1998, when they won the first men’s Champions Trophy, which was then called the Knockout Trophy. At 213/2, the Proteas were back on the hunt, with centurion Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma needing just 69 runs to win the game.
The set pair, on the other hand, could add four runs to their overnight partnership since Bavuma was caught behind by an Australian player in the third over of the day.
He was a key player in South Africa’s victory, scoring 66 runs off 134 balls with five boundaries. Markram then teamed up with Tristan Stubbs for a short 24-run partnership. Stubbs scored eight runs off 43 balls before Mitchell Starc got him out.
David Bedingham, who came in at number six to bat, gave Markram a lot of help. The two of them scored 35 runs for the fifth wicket, which brought South Africa close to winning. But Markram was out by Josh Hazlewood when his team just needed six runs.
Markram was still South Africa’s highest scorer with 136 runs off 207 balls, including 14 sixes. Kyle Verreynne, a wicketkeeper batter, joined Bedingham, and together they made sure the run chase went well.
On the third day, Australia finished their second innings with 207 runs, with number nine hitter Starc leading the way with a brave half-century. He stayed the top scorer with 58 runs without getting out.
Australia was bowled out for 212 runs in their first innings. Beau Webster scored the most runs with a quick 72 off 92 balls, and Steve Smith helped with a tough 62 off 112 balls.
Kagiso Rabada took five wickets in 15.4 overs to lead the bowling attack, and Marco Jansen added three more. In their first innings, South Africa could only score 138 runs in 57.1 overs. With 45 runs, David Bedingham was the best scorer.
Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia, was amazing, taking six wickets. Starc added two more to give Australia a big lead in the first innings.
