South Africa captain Bavuma dedicates maiden WTC crown to ‘doubters’, hails Rabada, Markram for historic feat

Temba Bavuma said some doubters questioned South Africa’s route to the WTC final, where they beat the defending champions Australia to lift their maiden crown on Saturday (June 14) at Lord's, dedicating this victory to them. The Proteas scripted history by winning the third edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) - their second in major cricket tournaments and first since 1998 - when they won the inaugural ICC Champions Trophy title.

Bavuma was at the heart of the run chase at Lord's, and alongside the centurion and the Player of the Final, Aiden Markram, both stitched a 157-run stand for the third wicket, laying the foundation of a brilliant five-wicket win in the WTC Final.

“Us a team, we got ourselves into the final; there were doubters with the route we took, supposedly beating weaker teams. This is for them. I'm sure the people back home will be celebrating,” Bavuma said at the post-match presentation.

Hailing his batting partner (Markram) and his team’s ace quick Kagiso Rabada for their match-winning outings, Bavuma said, “KG (Kagiso Rabada) is a massive player; in a couple of years, he will be in the ICC Hall of Fame. He was under controversy, but he did what he does. Markram was unbelievable, stats are important, but the character is what we look at, and Aiden has that. Another massive player for us.”

While Markram made this one-off Test about himself with his brilliant 136 in the fourth innings, Rabada was the one who prepared the base for everyone to pounce and celebrate on. The right-arm quick made it to the honours board (in the first innings) with his second five-for at the venue, also becoming only the second bowler to pick a five-wicket haul in a WTC Final.

Meanwhile, during the chase, Bavuma suffered a hamstring injury but decided against retiring out, taking perhaps the bravest call during this contest. While he had Markram’s backing in doing so, the seasoned opener showered praises on his team captain for getting them across the winning line.

“A lot of it came from him (Bavuma) - he has always led from the front, found a way to score runs, and those sort of knocks are something people will remember you for,” Markram said of Bavuma.

Besides, across both innings, Bavuma was the second-highest run-scorer for the Proteas. While he scored 36 in the first innings, with David Bedingham top-scoring with a gritty 45, he hit a match-winning 66 in the second.