South Africa’s batting hero Aiden Markram has taken longer than expected to deliver on his promise, but a match-winning century against Australia in the World Test Championship final is being hailed as the biggest in the country’s cricketing history.

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.

Aiden Markram, who captained South Africa to their only U19 World Cup title in 2014, and then led the senior side to a runners-up finish at T20 World Cup last year, was fittingly named Player of the Match for his heroics at Lord's.

South Africa, set 282 to win, finished on 282-5 before lunch on the fourth day, with opening batsman Markram falling for 136 after taking South Africa to within six runs of the title.

In the WTC Final Markram scored 136 runs, hitting 14 fours. He partnered with South African captain Temba Bavuma to add 147 runs for the third wicket, with Bavuma contributing 66 runs off 134 balls.

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),

Maharaj described Markram as a "big-match player" who had shown a clear sense of purpose before walking out to bat