London [UK], June 15 (ANI): South Africa’s first ICC title since 1998, breaking the 28-year-long jinx, a 5-wicket triumph in the World Test Championship final against Australia triggered several records to be toppled at the ‘Home of Cricket’, Lord’s.
It has been a year of breaking jinxes across different sports. Bologna lifted the title for the first time in 51 years, while Newcastle United ended the drought after 56 years. Tottenham Hotspur lifted the Europa League for the first time in decades, and Paris Saint-Germain got their hands on the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history.
In cricket, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 18-year wait ended after they trounced Punjab Kings to lift their first IPL trophy. Now, South Africa has etched its name in history after ending its ICC trophy drought, which lasted for 9,722 days.
A 282-run target was the ask from the Proteas to chase down and end their decades-long title hunt. Aiden Markram didn’t put a foot wrong and cleared South Africa’s route that led to the WTC mace with a swashbuckling 136(207).
The Temba Bavuma-led troops gunned down the 282-run ask from the Baggy Greens, pulling off their fifth-highest chase in Test cricket, with four of those five wins being against Australia. Notably, it is also the second-highest chase at Lord’s.
South Africa extended its winning streak to eight with another success story, which began against the West Indies last August. This is the second-highest win streak for the Proteas in the format, behind nine successive wins, which they achieved back in 2002-03.
The eight-match win streak is the highest in the World Test Championship history, bettering India and New Zealand, who won seven consecutive fixtures each during the inaugural cycle.
Bavuma continued to flaunt his flawless record as South Africa’s Test captain, winning nine and securing one draw. Only England’s Percy Chapman (9) has had as many wins as Bavuma in the first 10 fixtures as Test captain. Markram’s 136 marked his third ton in the fourth innings, and only former captain Graeme Smith (4) had more for the Proteas in the fourth innings. (ANI)
