Sachin Tendulkar, AB de Villiers among stars to laud South Africa for winning WTC title
Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar was among various stars who congratulated South Africa on winning the World Test Championship title on Saturday after defeating defending champions Australia by 5 wickets at Lord's. This was the first trophy the Proteas have won since the Champions Trophy's precursor (ICC KnockOut Trophy) in 1998, ending a 27-year-long wait.
'Test cricket continues to weave its magic. In a final where every session had its own story, @ProteasMenCSA found calm in the storm. Markram's composure and Bavuma's grit under pressure stood tall in the fourth innings. A century that will be remembered, a partnership that turned hope into history. Congratulations to South Africa on becoming World Test Champions!,' Tendulkar posted.
Test cricket continues to weave its magic.
In a final where every session had its own story, @ProteasMenCSA found calm in the storm. Markram's composure and Bavuma's grit under pressure stood tall in the fourth innings. A century that will be remembered, a partnership that…
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 14, 2025
'Congratulations @ProteasMenCSA Fantastic win and so well played! Hats off to Markram for that match winning century, and Temba for leading with such ice and fire all through👏🏻🏆 What an incredible experience of watching this beautiful format of the game! The built up drama, the slow anticipation, and the sweet victory to end it all were moments to savour.. and to experience that with my two boys thrilled and on their toes — couldn't have imagined it better than this. Go Proteas!, AB de Villiers shared.
Congratulations @ProteasMenCSA Fantastic win and so well played! Hats off to Markram for that match winning century, and Temba for leading with such ice and fire all through👏🏻🏆
What an incredible experience of watching this beautiful format of the game! The built up drama,… pic.twitter.com/NVBR3apmKo
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) June 14, 2025
'Bosh and Boom 💥 What a win for @ProteasMenCSA they have out skilled and out wanted the Australians. tremendously led by Temba Bavuma. They're a team that shows how powerful purpose, passion and belief are in shaping the path to a trophy. A glorious day for South Africa,' posted Kumar Sangakkara.
Bosh and Boom 💥 What a win for @ProteasMenCSA they have out skilled and out wanted the Australians. tremendously led by Temba Bavuma. They're a team that shows how powerful purpose, passion and belief are in shaping the path to a trophy. A glorious day for South Africa
— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) June 14, 2025
'Well done @ProteasMenCSA.. everything went right from the toss already .. enjoy the celebrations,' posted Herschelle Gibbs.
Well done @ProteasMenCSA .. everything went right from the toss already .. enjoy the celebrations 🥂🥂🥂 👏
— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) June 14, 2025
'The class of 2025 ends a 27-year wait and lifts the ICC World Test Championship Trophy in style! Huge congrats to the @ProteasMenCSA on a historic win at Lord's. I've always believed there's no greater measure of resilience and character than Test cricket and South Africa rose to the occasion! #AidenMarkram's century was pure class. @KagisoRabada25, @marcojansen2000 and @NgidiLungi brought relentless intensity and #TembaBavuma led with calm and courage. A final worthy of the format 👏 Tough luck #Australia! You know It's okay to let go of one trophy,' posted Yuvraj Singh.
The class of 2025 ends a 27-year wait and lifts the ICC World Test Championship Trophy in style! Huge congrats to the @ProteasMenCSA on a historic win at Lord's. I've always believed there's no greater measure of resilience and character than Test cricket and South Africa rose to…
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) June 14, 2025
On Day 4, South Africa moved from a portentous 213-2 overnight to 282-5, the second-highest successful run chase in the 141-year test history at the home of cricket.
Australia didn't give up the WTC mace easily, relentlessly attacking the stumps and pressuring a South Africa side with an infamous history of blowing winning positions on big ICC stages.
But South Africa was staunch and composed — only three boundaries in more than two hours — and lost only three wickets on Saturday in an air of inevitability.
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As the clock ticked over to 12.45 pm British Summer Time and Kyle Verreynne slammed a full toss from Mitchell Starc for a piddly single, a nation erupted. Long years of frustration and heartbreak had finally come to an end; after 27 years, South Africa finally had their moment in the sun, their stunning five-wicket triumph over Australia in the final of the World Test Championship erasing the bitter memories of campaigns gone awry, of mishaps of the past, many of which were of their own making. South Africa's entry into the final of the WTC was met with derisive dismissal; during the two-year cycle, they didn't face Australia or England, and only managed a 1-1 draw at home against India, who thrashes them inside two days on a diabolical Newlands surface in Cape Town. There was a feeling that they had 'played' the system, banking on a succession of two-Test series to wend their way into the title round. It didn't seem to matter that, coming into the final, they had won seven Tests on the trot, or that they had a fantastic all-round team helmed by that wonderful leader of men who is the most shining example of mind over matter. Temba Bavuma often flies under the radar, perhaps because he is the victim of misperception, but that has hardly impacted the 35-year-old, who masterminded a sensational campaign by setting himself up as the ultimate example of leading from the front. In the third cycle of the WTC, South Africa's admirable skipper scored 711 runs in eight matches at an average of 53.13, inclusive of two centuries. In the Lord's final, he backed up a two-and-a-half-hour 36 in the first innings with perhaps his most impactful and satisfying innings, 66 in three and a quarter hours on one leg after sustaining a hamstring injury very early in the piece. No one would have blamed Bavuma had he retired hurt, given how severely he was hampered by the injury, when he was only six. Every run thereafter was an event, a burden, a body blow; every moment spent in the middle was painful beyond imagination, though apart from the occasional involuntary grimace, he gave little away. Bavuma battled through the pain barrier, linking up with the exceptional Aiden Markram in a third-wicket alliance of 147 that enabled the Proteas to mount the joint second-highest successful run-chase at Lord's. Bavuma was seen initially as a beneficiary of the affirmative action policy that intended to undo the wrongs of the past, but today, the cricketing world is short of words when it comes to eulogising the South African captain. Markram was understandably the star of the show with his terrific fourth-innings 136, while Kagiso Rabada, coming off a cocaine-induced ban, was the bowling hero with match figures of nine for 110. But Bavuma's special 66 hardly paled in comparison; batting on one leg and hobbling between the wickets for all but a quarter of an hour of his presence at the crease, he showcased spunk, spirit, hunger, desire, ambition and desperation, making light of physical discomfort to orchestrate undeniably the greatest moment in South African cricketing history. The Proteas had won the inaugural Champions Trophy (then the ICC KnockOut Trophy) in Bangladesh in 1998 under Hansie Cronje, but that has almost been forgotten. What was remembered until Saturday afternoon was the string of exits in the knockout stages of ICC competitions across formats – two losses in the quarterfinals, a whopping 12 in the semifinals and one in the final, of the T20 World Cup against India in Bridgetown a little under a year back when 30 off 30 with six wickets in hand proved several bridges too far. Bavuma's identity no longer revolves around being the first black African batter to be picked in South Africa's Test squad. He has taken his team to heights that several of his illustrious predecessors couldn't. The reactions of Shaun Pollock, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers, all present at Lord's in various capacities, showed just how much Saturday's victory meant to them and, by extension, to their country. That Bavuma was the mastermind behind this epochal triumph added a special, special lustre.
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17 minutes ago
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Fans react as Temba Bavuma hands over WTC Test mace to son in heartwarming move
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Hindustan Times
17 minutes ago
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Temba Bavuma turns WTC mace into 'bazooka' as ice-cold celebration sends internet wild: 'Shots to all the doubters'
South Africa had the form. South Africa had the players. Yet few gave them a chance when they arrived in London a week ago. History loomed large over pre-match predictions, and that's where South Africa fell short in the eyes of many. For 27 years, they chased another ICC trophy — and came close far too often — only to stumble at crunch moments. That's why they were branded 'chokers' and trolled relentlessly. But on Saturday, Temba Bavuma ended that narrative — and his celebration couldn't have been more fitting. In a clip that went viral on social media, Bavuma, standing on the podium along with his teammates, is seen holding the WTC mace like a "bazooka" and firing shots all around. The ice-cold celebration from the South African captain sent the internet wild, with one of the users saying: 'He fired shots at all the doubters.' The win in London made Bavuma the most successful captain in Test cricket after 10 matches. With nine wins and one draw, no other skipper has enjoyed a better start in the format. He was appointed for the role in the 2022/23 home Test series against the West Indies, where he led the hosts to a 2-0 clean sweep. He continued his winning streak with a victory over India in the opening Test of the 2023/24 series in Cape Town, though an injury sidelined him for the following match. He returned to the format in Port of Spain, where South Africa dominated but were denied a win due to rain interruptions. This was followed by a stunning run as the Proteas secured seven straight wins, with the crowning moment coming at Lord's, where they beat Australia by five wickets to clinch the mace. Bavuma, hence, became the second captain, after Percy Chapman in the 1920s, to win nine of their first ten Tests, and the second captain after Warwick Armstrong, also in the 1920s, to go unbeaten in his first ten Tests.
