🏆 Markram’s Heroic Century Powers South Africa to First-Ever World Test Championship – 2025

In a defining moment for South African cricket, Aiden Markram’s stunning 136-run masterpiece led his team to a 5-wicket victory over Australia in the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025 at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground, ending the nation’s long wait for an ICC trophy after 27 years.

🏟️ Match Summary – World Test Championship

Target: 282
Result: South Africa won by 5 wickets
Player of the Match: Aiden Markram (136 off 207 balls)

🧠 A Century of Class and Composure – World Test Championship

After scoring a duck in the first innings, Aiden Markram responded with one of the finest innings ever played in a fourth-innings chase at Lord’s. Facing a daunting Australian pace attack featuring Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon, Markram built his innings with surgical precision and calm under fire.

His knock included 12 boundaries, and he rarely looked rattled, even during tough spells under cloudy conditions. The right-hander brought up his eighth Test century just before lunch on Day 4, earning a standing ovation from the packed Lord’s crowd.

👥 Support at the Other End –World Test Championship

Markram found an able partner in captain Temba Bavuma, who scored a gutsy 66 not out while battling through visible hamstring discomfort. The pair put together a match-winning partnership of 143 runs for the third wicket, laying the foundation for a calm and calculated chase.

After Bavuma was dismissed early on Day 4, David Bedingham (21)* and Kyle Verreynne (6)* saw the team through to the finish line, with Verreynne punching a single off Cummins to spark euphoric celebrations.

🇿🇦 South Africa’s Redemption Story –World Test Championship

This win ends South Africa’s long ICC trophy drought — their last major title came in 1998, when they won the Champions Trophy. Since then, the Proteas have often been labelled “chokers” in crunch games, suffering painful exits from multiple World Cups and Test events.

But this time, under Bavuma’s composed leadership and Markram’s brilliance, South Africa delivered a complete performance across four days of high-pressure Test cricket.

“This is special. We’ve been carrying that burden for a long time. Today, we played for everyone who believed in South African cricket,” said Markram, named Player of the Match.

🏆 ICC Test Mace and Prize Distribution

• Champion: South Africa
  💰 Prize Money: USD 3.6 million
• Runner-up: Australia
  💰 Prize Money: USD 1.5 million

South Africa also received the ICC Test Mace, awarded to the world’s top Test team, now held by a side that proved its mettle across two years of qualification and an intense final.

🧮 Key Stats from the Match

• Most Runs: Aiden Markram – 136 (2nd Innings)
• Best Bowling (Match): Kagiso Rabada – 7 wickets across both innings
• Turning Point: Markram–Bavuma 143-run partnership during a high-pressure chase

🎯 Looking Ahead

The next WTC cycle (2025–2027) begins next week, with India hosting New Zealand in the first Test. The 2027 WTC Final is already confirmed to return to Lord’s, but for now, the spotlight remains firmly on the Proteas.

🗣️ Final Word

Aiden Markram’s Lord’s century will go down not just as a great Test knock, but as a symbol of South Africa’s resilience, rebirth, and redemption. After decades of near misses and heartbreaks, the Proteas have finally lifted an ICC trophy — and in doing so, they’ve lifted a nation’s belief.

South Africa are no longer the team that stumbles on the big stage. They are World Champions.

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