Australia went into their second successive World Test Championship (WTC) final as firm favourites, with one of the most feared bowling attacks in the world. With their top four bowlers boasting a combined 1500 Test wickets between them.
On the South African side, a lot rested on the shoulders of Kagiso Rabada. Having recently served a one-month suspension for recreational drug use, Rabada had a point to prove. And he did so in style. His fiery 5 for 51, the second time he had got his name on the Lord바카라s honours board, helped to bundle out the defending champions for a modest 212 in the first innings on Day 1.
But the Australian pacers hit back equally strongly and dismissed the Proteas for a paltry 138, securing a crucial 74-run first innings lead in what looked to be a low scoring match.
The South Africans had not won a major title since the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy (later known as the Champions Trophy), 27 years ago. They had suffered plenty of heartbreak along the way since then and generations of great players had retired without the opportunity to hold aloft an ICC Trophy.
And history seemed to be repeating itself yet again, in an ICC final.
Rabada clearly had other ideas though, as he really tested the Australian top order in a hostile opening spell on the first day. A spell that relentlessly threatened the off stump and thereabouts, as he probed the corridor of uncertainty with surgical precision.
His second spell was equally incisive but failed to produce a wicket. A shortcoming which he amply compensated for, spectacularly, in his third spell after tea. As he was to say later, he just knew that any of his deliveries 바카라would have the name of an Australian batter on it바카라.
Sun Shines, Narrative Shifts
By the end of the second day, the first two days of the 2025 WTC final had witnessed the fall of 14 wickets each, as 28 wickets tumbled on a helpful Lord바카라s pitch before the narrative changed suddenly on a sun-drenched afternoon on the third day. Aiden Markram settled into the innings of his life. His skipper Temba Bavuma kept him company as they built one of the finest fourth innings partnerships of all time under pressure.
The story of the match till then had been that of fast bowling at its best, showcased by four of its finest practitioners in the modern game. Rabada had led the charge on the first day with a five-fer and Australian captain Pat Cummins responded in kind with a destructive post-lunch spell on the second day. He took 6-28 and got his side a crucial 74-run first innings lead, before Rabada brought the Proteas right back into the game again with four more wickets in the Australian second innings. Fellow pacer Lungi Ngidi also discovered his rhythm and scalped 3-38 in an inspired spell that reduced the Aussies to a precarious 73 for 7.
And after two days of wickets tumbling at regular intervals and batters looking tentative and uncomfortable for the most part, the sun came out and the pitch slowed down. A tenth wicket partnership of 59 early on the third morning between Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood was an ominous portent of things to come.
The Aussies had resumed on the third morning at 144 for eight and had set the Proteas what would need to be the second-highest run chase at Lord바카라s for victory. Starc바카라s unbeaten 58 had lifted his side to 207 all out from the depths of 148-9, thanks to that crucial 59-run last-wicket partnership. And Rabada had finished with figures of 4-59 in the second innings, making it a 9-fer in the match for him.
It seemed at that stage that the match would be over in three days. More so when Starc struck with the first ball of his second over, picking up Ryan Rickleton in the Proteas second innings. After a period of relative calm, he struck again, leaving South Africa on the cusp of another potential meltdown at 70 for 2.
A Partnership For The Ages
But amazingly, that would be as far as the Aussie charge would go that evening, as captain Bavuma walked out to join former captain Aiden Markram, who had got a six-ball duck in the first innings.
One hundred and forty three runs later, at close of play, they were still together with Markram batting on a magnificent 102 not out, playing an innings full of character and a limping Bavuma battling away on an equally gutsy 65.
Till then, it had been a match that had showcased fast bowling at its best. And then midway through the third afternoon, that narrative changed as the South African batters took control under sunny skies and Bavuma survived a difficult dropped catch to Steve Smith.
Together, the two of them gradually brought the Proteas within striking distance of what had looked to be an improbable 4th innings target of 282. Markram battled his inner demons of the past and played his shots, as he went about his business with calm authority and grace, effortlessly picking the right balls to drive, or guide down to the third man fence.
Batting seemed to get progressively easier as the afternoon wore on and for once, the feared Australian bowling attack looked to be running out of ideas.
At 213 for 2 on the fourth morning, they were still 69 runs adrift of what would be the second highest run chase ever in a Test match at Lord바카라s. And an opportunity to win an ICC World Test Championship final, fittingly billed as the 바카라Ultimate Test.바카라
And for South Africa, so it was, as history beckoned.
They had waited 27 years for this. 27 long years to break the jinx of heartbreak, everytime they got close to winning a piece of ICC silverware. 27 years that had brought the tag of chokers on them.
But not on this day. They believed and collaborated and egged each other on, with grit and determination and intent. And by close of play on the third evening, the target was in sight.
Bavuma and Markram바카라s partnership will go down in South African cricket history as one of its finest ever, with the latter reaching his eighth Test century from 156 deliveries in the dying moments of the day. Becoming the first Proteas batter ever to score a fourth innings hundred at Lord바카라s in the process.
History Beckons
And as a tweet said at the end of that day, 바카라69 reasons to smile, 8 wickets in hand. Two captains at the crease, South Africa in the driving seat바카라they see the finish line. Can we cross it and bring it home?바카라
And they did. On the fourth morning, Bavuma left early and Australia desperately searched for yet another last-minute twist in the tale. But Markram held firm at one end and with David Bedingham keeping him company, took them to the doorstep of a famous win that will resonate over years.
And as South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince said, the WTC title could well be the defining moment of Bavuma바카라s career, as his side won an eighth successive Test match under his captaincy.
바카라The first of many,바카라 as Temba himself was to say, at the post-match presentation. Time will tell.
Later, the ICC put out a video of Markram coming back to the South African dressing room at Lord바카라s, after playing the innings of his life. He showed just quiet satisfaction for a job well done. A dignified quietness and restraint that was so moving, in this era of curated celebrations.
When success comes after repeated trials and failures, perhaps it gives you that kind of calm, an appreciation and gratitude for having done well at the right moment, in spite of everything that didn't work out in the past. On the biggest possible stage for a cricketer.
