‘Extra fire and desire’: Aiden Markram backs South Africa to reach another WTC final

New Delhi: batter Aiden Markram believes that the team has everything to make it to the second consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) final. The Proteas men lifted the maiden ICC World Test Championship title in 2025 after defeating by five wickets at Lord’s, with Markram smashing a match-winning 136 in the final.

South Africa won seven consecutive Test matches during the closing stages of the 2023-25 cycle to secure a spot in the final. Markram now believes that the side has even greater motivation to qualify for the final again.

“I believe we can make the [WTC] final again. A lot was said last year about us making the final and the road to it, so now there’s an extra fire and desire to get into the final, because we would have had to do it the extremely hard way,” Markram said, as quoted by Cricinfo.

Can South Africa reach another WTC final?

South Africa are currently placed third in the 2025-27 WTC points table, with a points percentage of 66.67 after six Test matches. They are still in contention for a spot in the top two, with Australia in first position in the table and New Zealand in second. Bangladesh are placed fourth with a points percentage of 55.56, while India are also in contention with 51.52 per cent.

With the Test series levelled at 1-1, Temba Bavuma’s side is aiming to secure the win against Australia in the third Test in Cape Town. After losing the series opener, the hosts made a sensational comeback in Gqeberha, winning the second Test by an innings and 31 runs. Bavuma scored 179 runs, and Marco Jansen picked up a five-wicket haul to help them level the series.

They will now look to carry the same momentum into the third Test at Newlands in Cape Town. A win would help South Africa to strengthen their position in the race for the WTC final. The third Test between the two sides will begin at 2 PM IST, with live streaming available on FanCode and live telecast on Eurosport.