SA vs AUS | Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada and Temba Bavuma star in South Africa’s historic win in WTC 2025 final

‌Brief score: AUS 212/10(56.4) [Beau Webster 72(92), Steve Smith 66(112); Kagiso Rabada 5/51(15.4), Marco Jansen 3/49(14)] and 207/10(65) [Mitchell Starc 58*(136), Alex Carey 43(50); Kagiso Rabada 4/59(18), Lungi Ngidi 3/38(13)] lost to SA 138/10(57.1) [David Bedingham 45(111), Temba Bavuma 36(84); Pat Cummins 6/28(18.1), Mitchell Starc 2/41(13)] and 282/5(83.4) [Aiden Markram 136(207), Temba Bavuma 66(134); Mitchell Starc 3/66(14.4)] by five wickets.

With the prevailing overcast conditions, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma had no hesitation in putting Australia in after winning the toss in the World Test Championship 2025 final at Lord’s. Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen proved his decision right as the pair reduced the defending champions to 67/4 in the very first session. Rabada ran through the Australian batting lineup to record his 17th five-wicket haul in Tests as Australia folded up for 212. Left-arm pacer Marco Jansen also picked up 3/49 with Beau Webster top-scoring for the Aussies with 72 and Steve Smith also scoring a valuable 66.

In reply, South Africa also suffered a similar fate towards the end of the first day as they slipped to 30/4. However, captain Bavuma (36) and David Bedingham (45) put on 64 runs for the fifth wicket to help the Proteas out of a hole. But, no other batter could contribute apart from the duo as the South African innings ended at 138, with 74 runs in arrears. Australian captain Pat Cummins matched Rabada’s effort with a hostile spell of 6/28 with his final wicket also taking him to 300 Test wickets, the eighth Australian to do so, while Mitchell Starc picked up 2/41.

Australia, who were trying to maximise their first-innings advantage, were in for a shock as their top-order failed again and the side was reeling at 73/7. But the left-handed pair of Alex Carey and Starc saved the team’s blushes with a gritty partnership of 61 runs to take the lead past the 200-run mark. Another partnership of 59 for the last wicket between Starc and Josh Hazlewood meant Australia moved to 207 with the overall lead going to a healthy 281. Starc remained unbeaten with a resilient half-century and Carey made 43 while Rabada was once the pick among the Proteas bowlers with figures of 4/59 and Lungi Ngidi chipped in with 3/38.

Chasing 282 in pursuit of a first ICC title in 27 years, South Africa lost opener Ryan Rickelton cheaply in the third over with the score reading just nine. However, Aiden Markram and new batter Wiaan Mulder calmed the nerves with their half-century stand before the latter departed for 27 off Starc. Bavuma had a huge slice of luck when Steve Smith dropped him in Mitchell Starc’s next over when he was on two. But he regained composure and put in a fighting partnership, despite suffering from a hamstring injury, with Markram. The duo added 147 runs for the third wicket, which turned out to be a match-winning one, to take South Africa over the line and win their first ICC title after their triumph in the inaugural edition of the Champions Trophy in 1998. Markram scored 14 fours in his knock of 136, his first century at Lord’s, to finish as the top-scorer in the contest while Temba Bavuma made 66. For the Aussies, Starc finished with 3/66 while Hazlewood and Cummins picked up a wicket each.