South Africa Clinch Test Championship in Epic Final at Lord’s
South Africa has done it for the second time in their history. The Proteas won their second ICC trophy after a long wait of 27 years. 2025 has been the year for many teams, and this ICC Test Championship triumph adds South Africa to this list. Temba Bavuma led his side to a memorable victory at the ‘Home of Cricket.”
Australia had the upper hand after the first innings. A good overall display from batters and bowlers brought the Proteas back into the game. Aiden Markram and his captain stood at the crease and took their team over the line.
Australia is on top after 1st innings
It was a real test for batters in the first innings. Australia were all out on 212 after some bowling heroics from Kagiso Rabada. He took a fifer to restrict the Aussies to a low total. Steve Smith and Beau Webster scored half-centuries to take Australia to a respectable total.
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Australian bowlers then took the game towards the South African batters. None of the batters were able to score a half-century. Pat Cummins rose to the occasion with six wickets in the innings. He, along with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, restricted the Proteas to 138. Australia had a good 74-run lead.
Rabada, Ngidi shine but Starc keeps Aussies in the game
The second innings saw Australian batters struggling once again to put up a huge score. They were 73 for seven at one point. Rabada and Ngidi were on the wickets. These two took seven batters, with Rabada taking one wicket extra. Mitchell Starc joined Alex Carey in the middle. These two kept on fighting. Starc scored a half-century to take his team over the 200 runs mark. Australia was bowled out on 207 runs.
South Africa: Markram steals the show
Australia were in a commanding position after posting 282 as the target to win the Test Championship. South Africa needed some motivation to achieve this target. Aiden Markram stepped up and showed why he is one of the best players in the world. He soaked up some early pressure from Australian bowlers. Two wickets fell before 100, but Markram kept his nerve.
Bavuma joined Markram, and these two added 147 runs for the third wicket. The South African captain was struggling with a hamstring injury. However, he continued to score runs by playing a brave innings of 66 runs. Bavuma and Stubbs got out when South Africa needed only a few runs. Markram scored a brilliant ton and helped his side chase this target. He was dismissed on 136, but this innings will be remembered for years. South Africa made the second-highest successful run chase at Lord’s.
This win was South Africa’s second ICC trophy and first after the Champions Trophy triumph in 1998. The men’s team lost the T20 World Cup in 2024 against India. They needed something to lift their spirits. Temba Bavuma has not lost a test as a captain, and this was his ninth win in 10 matches in charge of the red ball team.
