ICC WTC Final 2025: South Africa clinched historic WTC title, broke 27-year ICC trophy drought

Sports News: In a remarkable turn of events, South Africa secured their first ICC World Test Championship (WTC) title, defeating Australia in a thrilling final at Lord’s, London, on Saturday. This victory has ended their 27-year wait for a major ICC trophy but also marked a significant milestone in South African cricket history.

Chasing a target of 282 runs, South Africa achieved the highest successful run chase in a WTC final to date, with 5 wickets in hand on Day 4.

Aiden Markram led the charge with an unbeaten century, scoring 136 runs, along with captain Temba Bavuma, who contributed a crucial 66 runs. The team secured the win with five wickets in hand, marking South Africa's first major ICC tournament triumph since 1998.

South Africa thus became the 3rd different team to win the World Test Championship after New Zealand and Australia. The Temba Bavuma-led side had topped the WTC standings to qualify for the final and overcame a first innings collapse to dethrone the title holders inside 4 days.

With this win, South Africa have laid their hands on their first-ever world title in international cricket. Also, this is their 2nd ICC trophy after the ICC Knockout 1998. Also, Cummins' golden run as a captain, which started with the retention of the Ashes series against England and was followed by an incredible WTC mace and 50-over World Cup wins over India, has come to a halt.