Aiden Markram played a pivotal role in South Africa winning the World Test Championship (WTC), beating Australia by five wickets at Lord’s.Markram’s superb 136 will go down as one of the most important knocks in the history of South African cricket. The 30-year-old opener took his side to the brink of the winning line, falling with his team six runs shy of completing the job, as they lifted their first major ICC trophy since 1998.Until this match, Markram was the only South Africa captain to have won a World Cup—the Under-19 version in 2014.After the historic win, the 30-year-old was seen having a drink with a fan post-match.
“That was one of my mates from school,” Markram told Supersport.com.“He wanted me to come over and I said, ‘Flip man, I can’t, it’s too busy, it’s chaos.’“And then he was like, ‘Well, here’s a beer.’ And I was like, ‘OK, I’m in.’ So, I’ve had my first one for today and I’m pretty sure there’ll be a few more.”Markram had led the team to the 2024 T20 World Cup final, and scarred by defeat when victory was in sight, this win was another tribute to his resilience.
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“I thought a lot about the T20 World Cup last night and how helpless I felt after getting out,” he said. “That gave me motivation to make sure I stayed at the crease. It was all about getting the job done.“This is as big and tough as it gets. All the questions that have been asked in the past have fortunately now been answered. It would be great to not hear it (‘chokers’) again, that’s for sure. To get rid of that tag is a big thing for this team.”Markram admitted he slept “horribly” but endured until six runs were needed. He was at the crease for six hours and 23 minutes.“It will rank up there as number one,” he said. “My Test career has been hard going, very stop-start. Weird how things worked out after a duck in the first innings. Need a bit of luck. It’s one of the most special days.”