Markram, already unbeaten on 102, continued his fine form and ended with a brilliant 136, setting up a comfortable finish before lunch. Captain Temba Bavuma, who battled through a hamstring strain, supported him with a gritty 65 as South Africa crossed the line with ease.

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen took centre stage and lauded South Africa's star opener Aiden Markram for his exceptional knock against Australia in the World Test Championship final, where the Proteas won their first ICC title since 1998.

Aiden Markram was full of compliments for his captain Temba Bavuma after he scored a fine 66 despite a hamstring strai

Australia left-armer Mitchell Starc, who took three of South Africa's five second-innings wickets, told cricket.com.au they tried almost everything with the ball to dislodge the South African opener as he took full advantage of the best batting conditions in the second half of the match.

South Africa chased down the challenging 282-run target set by Australia with five sessions to spare, thanks primarily to Aiden Markram’s majestic 136 and his 147-run third-wicket stand with captain Temba Bavuma (66),

With a ton in the second innings at Lord's, Markram became just the third batter to score a century in the WTC final after Steve Smith and Travis Head. Markram found support in skipper Temba Bavuma as the duo frustrated the Australian attack.