South Africa defeated Australia to win the World Test Championship at Lord’s.
South Africa were left with 69 runs to chase down on Saturday to collect their first ICC trophy in 27 years.
Their captain Temba Bavuma played on through a hamstring injury he’d sustained the day before, scoring a vital 66 with the bat, although he was an early wicket on Saturday when he edged a delivery from Pat Cummins into the waiting gloves of wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
South Africa had been facing a daunting task, needing 282 to win the final against the defending champions. But they defied the odds with Aiden Markram responding to the deficit by scoring a century, his eighth in test match cricket and his most important.
Tristan Stubbs registered eight runs when he came on after Bavuma was dismissed before Mitchell Starc took out his stumps.
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Australia got the early wicket of Temba Bavuma to give them hope of a comeback
With David Bedingham picking up runs, Markram continued to score, hitting a boundary to take them to 10 away from the target and within touching distance of victory.
Looking to secure the final runs, after scoring 136 in total himself, Markram was only undone by a fine catch from Travis Head at full stretch.
His contribution though was at the heart of South Africa’s win, as Kyle Verreynne provided the final strike as they beat Australia by five wickets.
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South Africa’s Aiden Markram was caught out for a superb 136 runs against Australia in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s
“I’m just relieved,” said Verreynne, who almost gave up his wicket with a wild swing shortly before he hit the winning run. “Probably the most nervous I’ve been. Managed to get it over the line, incredible.”
