South Africa won the World Test Championship after beating Australia by five wickets in the final at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Aiden Markram's 136 in the Proteas' second innings, which featured 14 fours, guided South Africa to victory on day four of the match.

Opener Markram, who was bowled out for a duck in his first innings, brought up his century late in day three and continued his fine partnership with Temba Bavuma (66) in the morning session.

Their match-winning partnership lasted 147 runs before Pat Cummins picked up his seventh wicket of the match after removing Bavuma.

Tristan Stubbs (eight) was bowled out by Mitchell Starc, with the seamer finishing with figures of 3-63, but South Africa could see the finish line at that point.

Markram looked to finish the match off in style, but Travis Head pulled off a brilliant catch to send the batter back to the dressing room.

Kyle Verreynne (four not out) survived a late scare after he edged the ball to Alex Carey, but Australia had no reviews left to reverse the umpire's decision of not out.

The South Africa wicket-keeper, with David Bedingham (21 not out) at the other end, secured the five-wicket win with a square drive right before lunch.

Markram and seamer Kagiso Rabada (9-110 across the two innings), who won the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2014 together, will take most of the plaudits in the dethroning of this formidable Australia test side.

Aiden Markram's ton steers the way for South Africa to a historic #WTC25 Final victory 

How the final day unfolded  https://t.co/BjRy7oF0Sd pic.twitter.com/GZsC1iKddr

— ICC (@ICC) June 14, 2025

Data Debrief: South Africa banish history of heartbreak

South Africa were defeated by India in last year’s T20 World Cup, one of many losses for the country in the latter stages of ICC competitions.

The Proteas have now ended a 27-year trophy drought in men's senior cricket, last winning the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy (now the ICC Champions Trophy).

They are the third team to be crowned World Test champions after New Zealand (2021) and Australia (2023).

Bavuma's incredible start as South Africa's test captain also continued, and he is still yet to lose a match, winning nine and drawing one.