South Africa 69 runs away from winning World Test Championship

Aiden Markram scored an unbeaten century as South Africa edged tantalisingly close to an unlikely success in the World Test Championship final, needing 69 runs to dethrone Australia after reaching 213-2 at stumps on the third day at Lord’s on Friday.

It was a dramatic turnaround in a gripping contest where Australia set their opponents a daunting 282-run chase but South Africa made full use of an increasingly benign wicket to chip away at the target.

Markram, on 102, and captain Temba Bavuma, 65 not out, will return on Saturday and look to wrap up victory after putting together the highest partnership of the match (143 not out) in pursuit of the joint second-highest winning total in test history at Lord’s.

Markram, who had failed to get to three figures in his previous 16 test innings, knocked the ball to all corners and was more than ably backed up by Bavuma, whose runs came despite a hamstring strain that hampered his running between the wickets.

Australia will be regretting dropping him when he was on two, not only for the runs he went on to score but the fact that slip fielder Steve Smith suffered a compound dislocation of his little finger as he spilled the catch.

Fortunes in the contest fluctuated through a furious opening two days, dominated by the bowlers with 24 wickets falling, but the wicket went flat on Friday and there were only four wickets taken.

The Aussies resumed on 144-8 with a 218-run lead overnight and modest ambitions of adding 20 to 30 runs more in the morning.

However, an unbeaten 58 from Mitchell Starc saw them bat for two hours until lunch to the frustration of South Africa before eventually being dismissed for 207 in their second innings.

Nathan Lyon was dismissed in the third over of the day, trapped leg before wicket by Kagiso Rabada, but Starc and Josh Hazlewood put on a 59-run last wicket partnership before part-time bowler Markram finally dismissed Hazlewood for 17.

South Africa came out to bat after lunch and saw Ryan Rickelton out for six runs as a full delivery from Starc, angling away from the left-hander, hit the toe of Rickelton’s bat and flew up for a diving catch from wicketkeeper Alex Carey.

Wiaan Mulder made a lively 27 before spooning the ball to cover where Marnus Labuschagne had an easy catch off Starc for the only other wicket to fall before Markram and Bavuma settled in for more than a session to offer their country hope of what had appeared an unlikely triumph.