Aiden Markram Makes History as First South African to Score Century in ICC Final

Historic Achievement by Aiden Markram

London [UK], June 13: Aiden Markram, the South African batter, has etched his name in cricket history by becoming the first player from South Africa to score a century in an ICC tournament final.

This remarkable milestone was achieved during the World Test Championship Final 2025 against Australia, held at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground in London on Friday.

Markram is now the fourth South African to score a century in ICC knockout matches, following in the footsteps of legends like Jacques Kallis (113* against Sri Lanka in the 1998 ICC Knockout semifinal), Herschelle Gibbs (116* against India in the 2002 Champions Trophy semifinals), and David Miller (101 against Australia in the 2023 World Cup semifinal).

The Proteas are closing in on their first-ever World Test Championship title, needing less than 70 runs to secure victory against Australia in the final.

South Africa has reached a total of 213 runs in 56 overs, bolstered by a century partnership between Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma. Despite battling a hamstring injury, captain Bavuma has managed to score a half-century.

Earlier in the day, a solid half-century partnership between Markram and Wiaan Mulder positioned South Africa favorably at the end of the second session on day three of the WTC final.

At the conclusion of the session, South Africa stood at 94/2, with skipper Temba Bavuma (11*) and Markram (49*) both at the crease. Mitchell Starc delivered a stellar performance, helping Australia to a total of 207/10, leading by 281 runs at lunch.

Starc remained unbeaten on 58, setting the target for the Proteas at 282 runs to end their ICC title drought. Meanwhile, Australia aims to bowl out South Africa to defend their WTC title.

Brief Scores: Australia: 212 and 207 (Mitchell Starc 58*, Alex Carey 43, Kagiso Rabada 4/59) against South Africa: 138 and 94/2 (Aiden Markram 102*, Temba Bavuma 65*, Mitchell Starc 2/37).