South Africa prove world wrong, beat Australia by five wickets in WTC final

LONDON: South Africa proved the world wrong on Saturday, as they beat Australia by five wickets in the ICC World Test Championship Final behind an incredible knock from Aiden Markham.

The Proteas had been told time and time again that they didn’t deserve to be in the WTC final due to the level of competition they faced in the 2023-25 cycle relative to their opponents, Australia. Out of the six series they played, South Africa managed to win four against the bottom four teams in the WTC table. Australia on the other hand not only played more matches, but also faced tougher competition against teams like India and New Zealand.

Reifying their underdog status was the fact the Proteas line-up was much more inexperienced than Australia’s. David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, and Ryan Rickelton had only competed in 31 tests total between the three. Kyle Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder are relatively inexperienced as well, having played 21 and 18 tests respectively before the WTC final.

However, South Africa’s batting line-up did have some experience on their side in the likes of Aiden Markram and skipper Temba Bavuma. And it was thanks to them, that all doubts were put to rest on Saturday, as South Africa closed out the final on day four of the test.

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The two put on an incredible 147 run partnership off 250 delvieries. Markham in particular stunned the crowd with one of the best knocks of his career, scoring 136 runs off 207 balls, a performance that earned him man of the match honours. It was the stability he provided that allowed South Africa to conquer their 282-run target. Markham almost made it to the end, but ended up being caught out at midwicket by Travis Head in the 81st over.

Australia tried their best to hold off South Africa, dismissing five Proteas batters in South Africa’s second innings, including three on day 4, courtesy of Pat Cummins, Mithcell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood.

Bavuma also added some much-needed runs for South Africa, scoring 36 and 66 in the first and second innings respectively. Bedingham was no slouch either, adding 45 runs in South Africa’s first innings, and another 21 in the second.

As for the Proteas’ bowlers, Kagiso Rabada impressed with a total of nine wickets, five of which came in the first innings. Marco Jansen also had a great showing, taking three wickets in Australia’s first innings, and another in the second. Lungi Ngidi had a great second innings, taking three wickets between the 19th and 25th over.  

It was Kyle Verreynne who scored the winning single off a delivery from Starc in the 84th over. That single gave South Africa their second ever piece of silverware in cricket, with their only major title coming in the1998 ICC Knockout Trophy, which is now known as the Champions Trophy. It also marked eight test wins in a row for the Rainbow Nation.

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