Aiden Markram's 102* and courageous Temba Bavuma take Proteas to brink of WTC Final glory

LONDON - For South Africa to have stood any chance in this World Test Championship final they were always going to need their senior players to shoulder the majority of the load.

Kagiso Rabada did his part with the spearhead claiming a match haul of 9/110 to leave the batters a target of 282 for their shot at glory.

Aiden Markram’s sublime 102 not out and a hobbling Temba Bavuma’s undefeated 65 have since taken over the baton with a brilliant unbroken second-wicket stand of 143 to put the Proteas within touching distance of lifting the golden ICC mace on Saturday morning. 

The London sun shone splendidly down for the entire third day, which resulted in the most favourable batting conditions of the entire WTC Final, which left the Proteas' comfortably placed on 213/2, requiring just 69 runs for victory on Saturday.

After 28 wickets - 14 per day - over the course of the opening two days, the bowlers tasted success just four times across the 81 overs delivered on Friday. 

Two of those were Australia’s, but not until Mitchell Starc (58 not out) and last man Josh Hazlewood resisted for 135 balls whilst adding an invaluable 59 runs for the 10th wicket in the morning session to lift the defending champions to a total that was seemingly out of the Proteas’ reach. 

Starc’s vigil, however, showed that the Lord’s surface was indeed not a mine dump littered with explosives and that through disciplined application and a positive intent, runs could be accumulated. 

This was indeed the Proteas’ mindset when they set about their run-chase, and even though Ryan Rickleton followed a wide outswinger from Starc early on, the previously tentative Wiaan Mulder showed greater presence at the crease with Markram. 

The pair added 61 off just 93 balls to take the sting out of the Australian attack with Mulder appearing comfortable on 27 before he scooped a cover drive Marnus Labuschagne off Starc to leave South Africa at 70/2. 

The stage was set for Bavuma to rubber stamp his indelible imprint on South Africa’s cricketing legacy with the World Test Championship literally on the table.

He looked to lay down an immediate marker with a lofted cover drive - in similar fashion to what actually led to his demise in the first innings. 

Bavuma’s intentions were clear, but it seemed more premeditated than calculated, and should have led to his demise when a thick edge off his flaying bat flew into the mid-drift of Steve Smith at first slip. 

But in similar vein to the South Africans on Thursday afternoon, the Aussie slip cordon had taken a significant step forward to nullify the ball bouncing before them, which caused the ball to burst through Smith’s fingers and the Proteas’ captain was afforded an invaluable reprieve. 

To add insult to injury, Smith suffered a compound dislocation of his right little finger and was taken to hospital for X-rays and further treatment. 

From thereon, it was all South Africa for the remainder of the session. Markram was playing with all the flair and panache that the Australians saw first-hand back in 2018 when he struck two centuries to power the Proteas to their only home series win over the Baggy Greens post isolation. 

With an even bigger prize at stake now, Markram was in sublime form as wore down the Aussie attack through delightful square and straight drives. 

At the other end, Bavuma was in significant pain after pushing through for a quick single, the skipper sustained a left hamstring strain. 

But these are the occasions where legacies are shaped, and Bavuma was not going to leave the arena even if that meant virtually batting one leg. 

He remained nimble enough to get down and sweep off-spinner Nathan Lyon that drew huge applause from the partisan Lord’s crowd.

WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Stumps, Day 3

Australia: 212 & 207 (Starc 58*, Carey 46, Rabada 4/59, Ngidi 3/38)

South Africa: 138 & 213/2 (Markram 102*, Bavuma 65 , Starc 2/53)

South Africa require 69 runs for victory