Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant extended a praising hand for his IPL teammate and South African opener Aiden Markram, who was at the peak of his powers in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia and played a massive role in the Proteas ending the ICC trophy hoodoo. Pant commended Markram for his tremendous knock of 136 in the fourth innings while chasing 282 to win the Test championship mace for South Africa, while mentioning that the whole LSG family was proud of him.
"Well played, Aiden brother. I am so happy for you - what a great knock under pressure. You have made us all proud and congratulations to South Africa on lifting the WTC mace," Pant wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
After 28 wickets fell in the first two days, the 59-run partnership between Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood ticked the target past 280. While the Proteas dressing room would have their concerns, the positive from the Day 3 first session would have been that if the last pair for Australia can bat so well, why can't their top-order do so and Markram just did that.
Entering the roaring Lord's Cricket Ground on a pair, Markram was at his unflinching best, threading gaps when he needed to, leaving and respecting good balls while keeping the strike moving. Markram got a huge support from skipper Temba Bavuma as the 147-run partnership for the third wicket was probably the clincher.
Markram didn't finish off the job but those very crucial 136 runs to lead South Africa to their maiden WTC title would have been something he would be very proud of. Markram has had a very good last few months as IPL 2025 was even the best as a batter for him in the cash-rich league with a new franchise in LSG. After being picked at a base price, Markram, after a couple of poor seasons with the bat, came into his own, smashing five half-centuries and scoring 445 runs while maintaining a high strike rate of 148.8 in 13 games he played.
A 27-year trophy drought came to an end for South Africa and with a T20 World Cup scheduled to take place in less than nine months in India and Sri Lanka and a home World Cup in a couple of years, the Proteas will be hungry for more silverware in the coming years.