Aiden Markram joins elusive list with WTC final hundred
Markram becomes first South African to score century in fourth innings of a Test at The Lord’s
LONDON: South Africa’s top-order batter Aiden Markram on Friday, joined an illustrious list of batters by scoring a century in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia here at The Lord’s Cricket Ground.
The right-handed opener, who fell for a six-ball duck in the first innings, responded with a well-crafted century, which helped him join Australia’s Travis Head and Steve Smith on the list of batters to score a century in the WTC final.
Both Head and Smith achieved the milestone in the first innings of the WTC 2021-25 final against India.
Head was the first-ever to score a hundred in the ultimate Test but was soon joined by compatriot Smith.
Batters to score a century in WTC final
Travis Head (AUS): 163 off 174 balls, vs India 2023
Steve Smith (AUS): 121 off 268 balls, vs India 2023
Aiden Markram (SA): 102* off 155 balls, vs Australia 2025
Notably, the final of the inaugural WTC cycle played between India and New Zealand in 2023, was a low-scoring contest, with Devon Conway’s first-innings 54 being the highest individual score for the fixture.
Furthermore, Aiden Markram also became the first South African batter to score a century in the fourth innings of a Test at The Lord’s.
His century was also the first by an overseas batter in the fourth innings of a Test at the venue since Michael Clarke’s ton in 2009.
Markram’s record-shattering century, coupled with Temba Bavuma’s unbeaten half-century has put South Africa in a commanding position after the third day of the ongoing WTC final against Australia as they need just 69 runs to clinch their first ICC title since 1998.
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