The South African national cricket team has been crowned world champions after defeating Australia in the World Test Championship.
The Proteas, regarded as one of the strongest national cricket teams in the world, had a history of underachievement in major tournaments.
Despite participating in 18 ODI and T20 World Cups, they had only managed to reach one final.
Their sole global title had come in 1998, when they won the ICC Knockout Trophy. However, whether that tournament qualifies as a major event has long been debated.
Because of this record, their opponents often taunted them about their past failures. In this final, the Australian players didn’t hold back in mocking their history of falling short. But this attitude may have revealed their own lack of confidence.
The match lasted four days. In the first innings, Australia were the stronger side, leading 212 to 138. However, South Africa mounted a stunning comeback in the second innings.
In response to Australia’s 207, they scored a commanding 285 to win the match by five wickets.
Although they are now world champions, South Africa will not play a single home Test match during the 2025–26 season. Fortunately, they will have plenty of time to celebrate this historic victory.