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Key Points

South Africa pulled off a thrilling 5-wicket victory against Australia to claim their maiden World Test Championship title. Chasing 282 at Lord's – the second-highest successful run chase at the historic venue – the Proteas rode on Aiden Markram's magnificent 136 and skipper Temba Bavuma's gritty 66. Kagiso Rabada's 9-wicket match haul proved decisive as South Africa overcame Pat Cummins' 6-wicket spell. This historic win marks South Africa's first ICC trophy since their 1998 Champions Trophy triumph.

Key Points: South Africa Chase 282 at Lord's to Win Maiden WTC Title vs Australia

  • South Africa chase 282 at Lord's, their 4th 250+ chase vs Australia
  • Markram's 136 & Bavuma's 66 anchor historic WTC final win
  • Rabada's 9-wicket match haul dismantles Aussies
  • Proteas win first ICC title since 1998
3 min read

South Africa chase second-highest runs at Home of Cricket after clinching their maiden ICC WTC title against Australia

Proteas script history with 2nd-highest Lord's chase to clinch first WTC crown, defeating Australia by 5 wickets as Markram's 136 leads the charge.

"This victory is for every South African who kept believing – Temba Bavuma"

London June 14

Second-highest run-chase at the Home of Cricket Lord's, as South Africa (SA) continue thier fine run at the venue, after chasing 282 against Australia to clinch their maiden ICC World Test Championship (WTC) title, defeating Australia by five wickets on Saturday.

This is the sixth time SA have successfully chased down a 250-plus target in Tests, their fourth against Australia.

Just the third defeat for Australia in 24 Tests at Lord's post World War II, the previous two coming in Ashes 2009 and Ashes 2013 respectively. South Africa have now won six out of eight Tests at Lord's since their readmission.

The only bigger run chase at the home of cricket was 344-1 by the West Indies against England back in 1984.

Coming to the match, on day one, the Proteas won the toss and opted to bowl first. They dominated the first session with the ball, as fiery spells from Rabada (5/51) and Marco Jansen (3/49) reduced Australia to 67/4.

A 79-run stand between Steve Smith (66 in 112 balls, with 10 fours) and Beau Webster (72 in 92 balls, with 11 fours) and a 46-run stand between Carey (23 in 31 balls, with four boundaries) and Webster took Australia to 212 all out.

With the help of early two wickets from Starc and contributions from Cummins and Hazlewood, Australia reduced South Africa to 43/4 at the end of day one, with Bavuma (3*) and Bedingham (0*) unbeaten.

A six-fer from skipper Pat Cummins (6/28) helped Australia bundle out Proteas for 138 runs and secure a 74-run lead, despite a half-century run-stand between skipper Temba Bavuma (36 in 84 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and David Bedingham (45 in 111 balls, with six fours).

In their second innings, Australia was reduced to 73/7, but a 61-run stand between Alex Carey (46 in 50 balls, with five fours) and Mitchell Starc (58* in 136 balls, with five fours), who also put a last wicket stand of 59 runs with Josh Hazlewood. Australia was bundled out for 207 runs, leading by 281 runs.

Rabada (4/59) and Ngidi (3/38) were the pick of the bowlers for South Africa.

In the run chase, Proteas lost Ryan Rickelton early, but a 61-run stand between Wiaan Mulder (27 in 50 balls, with five fours) and Markram put Proteas on track. An even gigantic, frustrating 147 run stand between Markram (136 in 207 balls, with 14 fours) and skipper Bavuma (66 in 134 balls, with five fours) followed, rattling Australia.

Despite Starc (3/63) attempting to keep Aussies alive, Kyle Verreyne hit the winning runs for South Africa to take them to their first ICC title since the ICC Knockout 1998. Markram took home the 'Player of the Match' award.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

Here are 5 diverse Indian perspective comments on the South Africa vs Australia WTC final:
R
Rahul K.
What a match! South Africa truly deserved this win after years of being called "chokers" in ICC events. Markram's century was pure class 👏. As an Indian fan, I hope our team takes inspiration from this for the next WTC cycle. Our batting needs similar grit in pressure situations.
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Priya M.
Rabada was absolutely lethal! 9 wickets in the match and that fiery spell on Day 1 set the tone. Shows why fast bowling is so crucial in Tests. Bumrah and Shami take note - this is how you win championships! South Africa's pace attack outclassed Australia's.
A
Arjun S.
While happy for SA, this match again showed Test cricket's declining quality. Australia collapsing twice, SA struggling in 1st innings - not exactly top-tier cricket. ICC needs to think about more balanced pitches. WTC final should be the pinnacle, not this rollercoaster.
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Sneha R.
Bavuma's leadership was outstanding! To come back from 43/4 in first innings and then chase 282 shows real character. Hope Indian selectors are watching - this proves you don't need superstar players to win, just a united team with fighting spirit 💪
V
Vikram J.
As an Indian cricket fan, I'm jealous watching other teams win ICC trophies while we keep failing in knockouts. But credit where due - SA's win was special. That Markram-Bavuma partnership was textbook Test batting under pressure. When will we see such performances from Kohli-Rahane in finals?

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