New Delhi: 

South Africa defeated defending champions Australia by five wickets in the final to win the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 title. Aiden Markram’s brilliant 136 and skipper Temba Bavuma’s gritty 66-run knock helped the Proteas chase down the target of 282 runs in their second innings to win the final and bring an end to their 27-year-long ICC title drought with their maiden WTC crown.

3 things that went wrong for Australia in WTC 2023-25 final:

1) Top order failure 

Australia’s top order failed to deliver in the WTC final as the likes of opener Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and returning Cameron Green all failed to impress across both innings. Khawaja was dismissed on a duck in the first innings before Kagiso Rabada removed Green cheaply on 4 in the same over.

Labuschagne took his time in the middle and looked set before he was dismissed on just 17 off 56 balls. Khawaja and Green’s shambolic run continued in the second innings, as they were dismissed on 6 and 0, respectively. Labuschagne too failed to convert his start into a big score and could only manage 22 runs off 64 balls.

The poor start from the openers, followed by Green’s failure, cost Australia heavily in the final, as they never managed to create momentum while batting and failed to post big totals on the board in both innings.

2) Defensive mindset on Day 3

Australia’s defensive mindset was quite evident on the field during South Africa’s 282-run chase on Day 3 at Lord’s. With South Africa 70/2 after losing Wiaan Mulder on 27 on Day 3, Australia had the chance to create pressure on the Proteas. However, Aussie skipper Pat Cummins surprisingly opted to remove his fielders from crucial catching positions and sent them to deep positions to avoid boundaries.

That resulted in both Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram getting away with easy singles and doubles, which helped them play till stumps. The duo ended up adding an unbeaten 143-run stand for the 3rd wicket on Day 3 to set the stage for a thumping win for South Africa. The Aussie bowlers also failed to make use of the ball keeping low as they didn’t quite exploit the right areas, letting Markram and Bavuma take the game away from them.

3) Missed opportunities on the field

Australia would also rue missed opportunities on the field during the crucial final at Lord’s. Bavuma was playing on 2 when Steve Smith dropped a regulation catch of the South Africa skipper at wide slip. Bavuma edged a short of length delivery from Starc, and the ball flew straight to Smith, who ended up misjudging the catch as the ball hit him on his chest.

The catch cost Australia heavily as Bavuma’s gritty 66-run knock turned out to be the difference between the two sides on Day 3, putting South Africa on the cusp of glory. Australia missed some other crucial opportunities on Day 3 due to fielders not being in the right position, raising questions on Pat Cummins’ captaincy decisions.

69 runs away from a historic win on Day 4, Saturday, South Africa held their nerves under pressure against a relentless Australian pace attack to go the distance. After South Africa lost Bavuma early in the morning session, centurion Markram took the onus on himself and finished with a composed 136 to guide the team home.

Though Markram didn’t get a chance to score the winning runs, South Africa were only 6 runs away from victory when he lost his wicket in the 81st over. Celebrations erupted at the Lord’s Cricket Ground as the South African fans went into jubilation after Kyle Verreynne got the winning runs off Mitchell Starc to help the Proteas lift their first ICC title since their Champions Trophy (then ICC knockouts) triumph in 1998.

It was a dismal bowling performance from Australia and a defensive mindset on the field that culminated in their only fourth defeat in the final of a major ICC event as they failed to defend 282 runs in the 4th innings at Lord’s. Australia looked like the favourites till the end of their second innings, but a stupendous batting effort from Markram and Bavuma saw South Africa claw back and close out a historic victory.

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