New Delhi, June 14: South Africa ended their drought of years, claimed their first-ever ICC Trophy by winning the ultimate World Test Championship Final 2025. Aiden Markram’s massive knock of 136 runs helped South Africa chase down the target, winning the title by 5 wickets on Saturday.
South Africa’s team has become the world champion for the first time in any format of cricket. Not only this, the team has won an ICC tournament after 27 years. The team won the Champions Trophy in 1998.
South Africa achieved the target of 282 runs for 5 wickets before lunch on the fourth day of the match at Lord’s Stadium in London. Aiden Markram scored 136 runs, while Temba Bavuma played an innings of 66 runs.
Australia scored 218 runs in the second innings and gave South Africa a target of 282 runs. In the first innings, Australia scored 212 and South Africa scored 138 runs. Here the Kangaroo team got a lead of 74 runs.
Markram was at the forefront of South Africa winning the 2014 U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, and this time too, he’s been at the front and centre by leading the side to a major senior championship win after the 1998 ICC Knockout, which is popularly known as the Champions Trophy. Resuming from 213/2, South Africa were dealt an early blow when Temba Bavuma nicked off a back-of-the-length delivery behind to the keeper off Cummins and fell for 55 off 134 balls.
With Nathan Lyon getting some turn, it meant that South Africa had to go through the nervy path in their quest to win the championship, with Australia keeping the pressure up and not giving any runs freely. Markram, though, settled the nerves by crunching Cummins for four, before pulling him firmly through mid-wicket for another boundary.
But Australia made another big strike when Mitchell Starc castled a jittery Tristan Stubbs through the gate and took out the leg-stump bail. Once Australia wasted their third review of the innings, a clear sign of desperation, the writing was on the wall. Markram and David Bedingham were a picture of calmness while rotating the strike easily, as South Africa inched closer to the target.
The deficit came under 20 when Bedingham played a silky on-drive off Cummins, bringing the crowd of Proteas supporters to life. That hit a crescendo when Markram whipped Josh Hazlewood through mid-wicket for four, before taking three runs in the same fashion on the very next ball.
Though Markram couldn’t finish the chase as he flicked to mid-wicket and fell for 136 off Hazlewood, Kyle Verreynne hit the winning runs by carving Starc through cover-point to begin joyful, emotional celebrations in the dressing room, loyal supporters, family members, and former players in the Home of Cricket, as well as back home in South Africa.
Brief scores: Australia 212 and 207 lost to South Africa 138 and 282/5 in 83.4 overs (Aiden Markram 136, Temba Bavuma 66; Mitchell Starc 3-66, Josh Hazlewood 1-58) by five wickets