They defeated Australia by five wickets in the WTC 2025 Final.
South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada was elated after winning the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2025 by beating the defending champions, Australia, at Lord’s Stadium. Soon after winning the title, he took a dig at those who previously called out the team for clashing with relatively weaker oppositions to qualify for the summit clash.
“Extremely happy. We have planned well and worked hard. We deserve to be here. People said we have not faced strong oppositions which is rubbish. We beat Australia this time, had to be on our A game,” he said after the match.
The South African skipper, who is only the second captain to lead his nation to an ICC tournament victory after Hansie Cronje, has praised their ace pacer after the final. Bavuma believes that the 30-year-old will soon enter the ICC Hall of Fame. He also acknowledged how Rabada overcame the recent hardships, following his ban due to the usage of recreational drugs, to produce match-winning performances in both innings of the match.
“KG is a massive player. A couple of days ago, I went to the ICC Hall of Fame meet. I think in a couple of years, KG will be one of those guys. When he came into the game, there was controversy behind him. He was motivated to do what he needed to do, and like a champion, he came and did what he did,” stated Bavuma.
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SA skipper Bavuma had elected to bowl first after winning the toss. Rabada and his fellow pacers proved their call to be right as they wrecked the Australian batting lineup for just 212 runs. The seamer led the charge with his five-wicket haul. Marco Jansen also scalped three wickets in that innings.
He also claimed a four-fer under pressure after the Proteas failed to capitalise on a low total. Australia bundled them out for 138 and gained a lead of 74 runs. Moreover, the Aussie tail-enders put up a long partnership in the third innings to stretch the lead over 250. Eventually, they finished on 207 after a gritty 136-ball-58 from Mitchell Starc.
Coming into the chase, captain Bavuma’s sublime 62* and Aiden Markram’s brilliant 102* on Day 3 set the stage for the Proteas to claim the ICC title. However, Bavuma could add only four runs more to his overnight score before being dismissed by the opposition captain Pat Cummins, early on Day 4. But Markram continued his stellar show and just missed out on finishing things off by a whisker. His 136 in the fourth innings guided South Africa to their maiden ICC Test Mace.
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