On June 14, 2025, South Africa defeated defending champions Australia by 5 wickets in the 2023–25 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, England.
- This victory ended South Africa’s 27-year ICC trophy drought, marking their first senior men’s ICC title since the 1998 ICC Knockout Trophy.
About 2023-25 ICC WTC:
i.The 3rd edition of the ICC WTC was held from June 16, 2023, to June 14, 2025.
ii.The tournament featured 69 matches between the top nine-ranked ICC Men’s Test teams, held over a two-year league and final format.
iii.Each of the top nine test teams played a bilateral series over two years; the leading two qualified for the final.
iv.The total prize pool of USD 5.76 million (Rs. 49.24 crore) was announced.
- Champions (South Africa): USD 3.6 million (Rs. 30.78 crore)
- Runner-up (Australia): USD 2.16 million (Rs. 18.56 crore)
- Third-place (India): USD 1.44 million (Rs. 12.13 crore)
v.The 2025–27 WTC begins on June 17, 2025, with Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh in Galle (Sri Lanka), featuring 71 Test matches across the top nine nations. India will play 18 Tests in this cycle.
Note: Previous ICC WTC winners New Zealand in the 2019–2021 cycle and Australia in the 2021–2023 cycle.
Final Match Highlights:
i.In the final, Australia, led by Pat Cummins, scored 212 all out in their first innings, while South Africa, under the captaincy of Temba Bavuma, were bowled out for 138, conceding a 74-run first-innings lead.
ii.In the second innings, Australia managed 207 all out, setting a target of 282 runs. South Africa successfully chased it down, scoring 282/5, with a match-winning effort.
iii.Kagiso Rabada (South Africa) delivered a standout performance, claiming 9 wickets for 110 runs (9/110) across both innings.
iv.Aiden Markram received the Man of the Match award for his match-winning century, becoming the first South African to score a hundred in an ICC WTC final.
Records:
i.Pat Cummins (Australia) became the fastest bowler to reach 300 Test wickets in terms of balls bowled, achieving the milestone in 13,725 deliveries.
- He also recorded the best bowling figures by a captain in an ICC final, with 6 wickets for 28 runs (6/28).
ii.Steve Smith (Australia) surpassed Sachin Tendulkar (India) for the most 50+ scores in ICC knockout matches and set a new record for the most Test runs at Lord’s Cricket Ground by a visiting batter, with a total of 591 runs.
About International Cricket Council (ICC):
Chairman – Jay Shah (India)
Headquarters – Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Founded – 1909
