London: 

The encounter produced a thrilling contest as both the teams were in hunt of a victory for the majority of the match.  In a topsy-turvy game that saw both the sides outperforming each other at various stages of the game, South Africa emerged triumphant by five wickets to clinch the World Test Championship (WTC) title. Also, the team inked history by winning an ICC title after a gap of 27 years. The South African side won their last ICC event in 1998 (Knockout Trophy) when they beat West Indies by four wickets in the final.

The South African duo of Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram stepped up with the heroic performances for the national side on the last two days of the match. While the former played a knock of 66 runs while battling through a hamstring injury, the latter played a knock of 136 runs. A stellar partnership from the duo helped South Africa script the victory by five wickets.

Australia post 212 while batting first:

There were overcast conditions on the first day of the marquee event as South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bowl. South African pacer Kagiso Rabada bowled an impressive spell and the Australian team were reduced to 67/4. Steven Smith (66) and Beau Webster (72) stitched a 79-run partnership for the fifth wicket. The Australian side managed to post 212 on the scoreboard in the first innings.

Kagiso Rabada picked five wickets while Marco Jansen scalped three wickets.

Australia capitalise on lead thanks to Starc’s fifty:

In a low-scoring thriller, Australia grabbed the opportunity of encashing on the first-innings lead with both hands thanks to a half-century from Mitchell Starc. He played a brilliant knock of unbeaten 58 runs. Kagiso Rabada was the pick of the bowlers taking four wickets while Lungi Ngidi took three wickets for the South African side.

Australia get to a 74-run lead:

The Australian bowlers came up with a strong response and wrapped up the South African innings on 138 in the first innings. David Bedingham was the highest run-getter in the innings with a knock of 45 runs. Pat Cummins shone with the ball taking six wickets while Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood picked two and one wicket each.

South Africa turn the tide:

South Africa were chasing a target of 282 in the fourth innings and looking at how the match had panned out in the first three days of the Test, odds were tilted in the favour of the Aussies. The South African team seemed to be in deep trouble but the skipper Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram had other plans. While Bavuma scored 66 runs, Makram played an innings of 136 runs for the Proteas. Thanks to the heroic knocks from both the batters South Africa won the match by five wickets winning their first ICC title since 1998.

Read More :

BCCI Forms Panel To Issue Guidelines To Prevent Incidents Like Bengaluru Stampede