New Delhi: South Africa batter Aiden Markram rose to the occasion, hitting a composed century on the third day of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at the Lord’s in London. Chasing a target of 282, South Africa have one hand on the coveted WTC mace as they require only 69 runs to clinch their maiden WTC title, courtesy of Markram’s unbeaten 102-run knock combined with skipper Temba Bavuma’s 65 not out.
The extreme caress with which Markram batted resulted in one of the finest Test knocks ever played, as it came at a crucial juncture of an all-important clash. The Proteas are probably just half a session away from scripting history, ending the ICC knockouts jinx, and removing the tag of “chokers” as they foil Australia’s attempts to retain the mace and defend their crown.
This was Markram’s eighth hundred in Tests, which was laced with 11 fours as he faced 159 deliveries to score at a strike rate of 64.15. This is one of his best knocks in the longest format and arguably his best knock ever in international cricket. He stitched a 143-run stand with Bavuma (65* off 121; 5 fours) for the third wicket to put South Africa in sight of glory.
It is noteworthy that 14 wickets fell on both day one and two of the WTC final, but just four wickets fell on day three of the ultimate Test, which speaks volumes of the batting skills of the duo which will take the crease again on Saturday and possibly end the game lifting the greatest prize which is drawing near. South Africa ended the day on 213/2 as Markram and Bavuma went to the pavilion amidst an applauding crowd at the iconic venue.
Markram makes it record outing
For Markram personally, it was a day full of bagging the records as he notched some rare feats with his classic and gritty Test hundred. He has become the first opener to score a century at Lord’s since 1994 and has also become the fifth South African player to take a wicket and score a hundred in the same Test match in England.
Markram had a duck in the first innings, which makes him the ninth batter to register a duck and a hundred in the same Test at Lord’s, third since 1980 after Michael Vaughan against India in 2002 and Misbah-ul-Haq against England in 2016.
Openers with most 100s in fourth innings in Tests
4 – Sunil Gavaskar
4 – Graeme Smith
3 – Herbert Sutcliffe
3 – Geoffrey Boycott
3 – Gordon Greenidge
3 – Graham Gooch
3 – Aiden Markram
Visiting batters with fourth-innings hundreds at Lord’s
214* – Gordon Greenidge (WI) vs ENG, 1984
138 – Roy Fredericks (WI) vs ENG, 1976
136 – Michael Clarke (AUS) vs ENG, 2009
109* – Ajit Agarkar (IND) vs ENG, 2002
102* – Sir Don Bradman (AUS) vs ENG, 1938
102* – Aiden Markram (SA) vs AUS, 2025
SA players with hundred and wicket(s) in the same Test in England
Bruce Mitchell, The Oval, 1935
Graeme Pollock, Trent Bridge, 1965
Jacques Kallis, Old Trafford, 1998
Jacques Kallis, The Oval, 2012
Aiden Markram, Lord’s, 2025
A stat from the game, which weighs in on the greatness of the flamboyant hundred by Markram, is that the fourth innings of the WTC final saw not even a single dismissal of the right-handed batters off the balls that were pitched outside the off stump by the pacers, which is clearly a lesson for many batters across the globe struggling with such deliveries.
RHBs vs balls pitched in the channel outside off by pacers in this Test
1st innings: 61(135), 3 dismissals
2nd innings: 62(203), 6 dismissals
3rd innings: 24(58), 4 dismissals
4th innings: 81(155), no dismissal
A fine ton from Aiden Markram on Day 3 at the Lord’s has put South Africa on the brink of a historic WTC win over Australia as the Proteas are just 69 runs away from clinching their maiden WTC title. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
