WTC 2025 Final Day 3: Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma Lead South Africa to Historic Win Over Australia

On Day 3 of the World Test Championship (WTC 2025) final against Australia at Lord's, South Africa has gotten closer and closer to winning. On Day 3, South Africa's captain Temba Bavuma battled through injuries to remain undefeated at 65 at Stumps, while opener Aiden Markram came back from a first innings duck to smash a magnificent century. After reaching 213/2, SA has just 69 more runs to accomplish the target of 282 and win their first WTC championship. Australia set a difficult goal earlier in the day with a tough knock of 58 from Mitchell Starc.

It didn't take long for the Proteas to achieve their morning breakthrough. Nathan Lyon took Australia's ninth wicket with two off 13. Josh Hazlewood joined Mitchell Starc. After the first hour of Day 3, they reached 179/9, extending their lead much beyond what anyone would have predicted. On the fourth delivery of the 64th over of the innings, Starc reached his eleventh Test fifty. The fast-bowling tandem became just the second pair in Test cricket history to have three fifty-plus partnerships for the tenth wicket after Australia passed the 200 mark. Trent Boult and BJ Watling were the first to accomplish the feat.

WTC 2025 Final Day 3 Highlights:

Hazlewood (17 off 53) was removed by Aiden Markram on the stroke of lunch, ending the tenacious 10th wicket stand in an unimpressive fashion. At cover, Keshav Maharaj's hands were slapped with a proper drag-down wide of off stump. Kagiso Rabada finished the game with nine wickets (4/59 in 18 overs), leaving him stranded. The South Africans were not quite off to the start they would have liked, as they needed to win by 282 and had plenty of time to do so. On the opening delivery of Starc's second over, Ryan Rickelton (six off eight) was dismissed. After seven overs, South Africa reached 39/1 thanks to a string of boundaries.

At Tea, Markram came within one stroke of a half-century. Bavuma gave good support from the other end, even though she was having some cramps. Australia was never able to stop the run flow because both batters had a lot of strike rotation. After Nathan Lyon failed to sufficiently trouble the batsmen, Travis Head was substituted in an experimental switch. But after a couple of overs of Head scoring eight runs in total, he was back on. Markram's elegant flip raised a well-earned ton on the day's penultimate over.

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