South Africa win World Test Championship Final after successful 282-run chase against Australia

South Africa has won the World Test Championship, defeating Australia by 5 wickets.

South Africa successfully chased 282 runs in the final innings following a batting collapse by Australia’s top order, as none of Australia’s top six batsmen scored more than 25 runs. 

South Australian, Alex Carey, scored 43 from just 50 deliveries in the second innings, but it was a last wicket 59-run partnership between Australian bowlers, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood that gave Australia a competitive lead of 282 runs.

However, South African opener, Aiden Markram, led South Africa to their first ICC trophy since 1998, by scoring 136 runs, which earnt him player of the match. Markram was supported by South African captain, Temba Bavuma, who scored 66 runs while struggling with a hamstring injury. 

In the first innings, Australian bowler, Pat Cummins took 6 wickets while South African bowler, Kagiso Rabada, had 5 wickets too. 

Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne looked comfortable opening, despite only scoring 17 and 22 runs respectively. Labuschagne was the fifth Australian to open the batting alongside Usman Khawaja since David Warner's retirement in 2024.

Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green both struggled with the bat as they scored a combined 10 runs between them, as they both got out for ducks in separate innings. 

Although, both batsmen will have an opportunity to consolidate their position in the test side for the Ashes later this year, by scoring runs in the upcoming West Indies test series, which begins on the 25th of June.