Five take-aways from the Proteas’ World Test Championship Final win at Lord's

LONDON: Temba Bavuma’s Proteas claimed a famous victory at Lord’s on Saturday. It was South Africa’s first major ICC final victory in 27 years. 

Independent Media’s Zaahier Adams, who has provided coverage from Lord’s the past four days, highlights five key elements that turned the game in the Proteas’ favour. 

1. Kagiso Rabada’s superstar performance 

The pressure on “KG” Rabada heading into this WTC Final was insurmountable. The big fast bowler was returning from a month-long suspension after testing positive for a banned substance. Both the media and hard-nosed Aussies zoned in on Rabada in search of any chinks in his armour. A five-star display on the opening day though was the perfect response - the second time he would be inked into the Lord’s Honours Board - before following up with a further four wickets in the second innings. Big players step up in the big matches. 

2. Lungi Ngidi’s gas tank held up

Coach Shukri Conrad took plenty of flak for recalling seamer Lungi Ngidi from the Test wilderness. And when Ngidi was awful in Australia’s first innings, the knives were well and truly out. But this South African team's character has been tested before, and every single time they have found someone to step up and fill the breach. It was now Ngidi’s turn in Australia’s second innings, and the big fast bowler summoned every ounce of energy to get through nine overs on the trot, which earned him three invaluable wickets in the process. Ngidi had smashed open the Test and given the Proteas’ a way back into the contest. 

3. Redemption for “Wessie”

Another one of Conrad’s bold calls with Wiaan Mulder slotted in at No 3 for the WTC Final. The Lions allrounder looked horribly out of his depth in the first innings, and it seemed that Conrad’s Midas touch had finally eluded him. But like Ngidi, Mulder stepped forward - quite literally - in the second innings and formed a solid 61-run partnership with centurion Aiden Markram to stifle the Australian new-ball threat.

4. “Captain, My Captain”

The Proteas have a legacy of Test captains putting the team ahead of their injured bodies. Think back to Kepler Wessels at the SCG in 1994 when he batted with a broken hand, whilst Graeme Smith did a similar thing at the very same venue in 2008 to help save the third Test. 

At Lord’s, it was the turn of Temba Bavuma to show off his courage with the skipper continuing to bat despite straining his hamstring midway through the Proteas’ run-chase. Bavuma hobbling down the pitch in agony after every run will forever be remembered. 

5. The Centurion

Aiden Markram knows the feeling of despair after losing a World Cup final. He was desperate not to experience that again, and the best way to avoid it was to stay out in the middle and eat chunks out of the target set by Australia. He came within six runs of his objective, but by then he had already struck arguably the most important century in South Africa’s Test history. The celebration of drinking a cold beverage with one of the fans on the team’s victory lap capped it all off for Markram.