South Africa wins the World Test Championship, its first major cricket title in 27 years
London, Jun 14 (AP): South Africa won the World Test Championship against titleholder Australia by five wickets after knocking off the last 69 runs required on the fourth morning of the final on Saturday.
The Proteas achieved their first major cricket title in 27 years, sparking celebrations at Lord's.
They moved from a portentous 213-2 overnight to 282-5, the second-highest successful run chase in the 141-year test history at the home of cricket.
Australia didn't give up the WTC mace easily, relentlessly attacking the stumps and pressuring a South Africa side with an infamous history of blowing winning positions on big ICC stages.
But South Africa was staunch and composed — only three boundaries in more than two hours — and lost only three wickets on Saturday in an air of inevitability.
“We've come a long way as a team, as a country,” an emotional Keshav Maharaj said. "We always say we want to be good people and play good. We're moving in the right direction as a cricketing nation.
“After 25 years of pain, to finally get over the line is super emotional. We're so grateful to have Temba (Bavuma, captain) to get us over the line. Diversity is our strength, so to see the crowd, they stand for the meaning of our rainbow nation. To lift the trophy is going to unite the nation even more.”
The desperate Australians used up all of their three reviews in vain within the first 90 minutes but fought to the end. They took the new ball but were still blunted by a flat pitch.
Markram was the colossus Australia could not topple until it was too late.
The opener resumed the day on 102 and was out for 136 when only six more runs were needed. He spent six hours, 23 minutes in the middle.
About 15 minutes later, Kyle Verreynne broke the tension by hitting the winning run, a drive into the covers.
Markram and captain Temba Bavuma set up the victory with an unbeaten and chanceless partnership of 143 runs the day before. They could not finish what they started, adding only four runs together before Bavuma edged Pat Cummins behind for 66, one more than he had overnight.
Tristan Stubbs was castled on 8 by Mitchell Starc with 41 runs needed and South Africa was too close to the finish to be denied.
But Markram couldn't have the pleasure himself. With six runs needed to win, he was caught at midwicket by Travis Head off Josh Hazlewood.
Australia didn't celebrate. Instead, players slapped Markram on the back and congratulated him on his match-winning knock as the Lord's crowd stood and applauded.
They stood again when the end finally came, a rout of red-hot Australia with five sessions to spare.
South Africa's only previous global trophy was the Champions Trophy's precursor in 1998. Before then and since, its history on the ICC's biggest stages has been infamously cruel.
The venues and dates of their most heartbreaking losses include Birmingham 1999, Dhaka 2011, Auckland 2015, Kolkata 2023 and Bridgetown 2024.
But London 2025 will go down as one of the greatest days in South Africa sports, when its cricket underdogs grabbed the advantage and didn't let go against one of the great Australia test sides.
South Africa was criticized before the final for its supposedly easier road — it didn't face Australia or England in a series in the 2023-25 WTC cycle — but it has won eight straight tests, its second longest streak in history, and half of them away from home.
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ED arrests Sandeepa Virk, 'cosmetologist' for alleged money laundering
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday it has arrested a woman, who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud and misrepresentation.
The agency said the purported links of the woman, Sandeepa Virk, with a Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, Corporate Affairs), are also under its scanner. Sethuraman, in a statement, denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Virk was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said. The woman claims to be the owner of a skin care products selling website named hyboocare.com, which the ED claimed was a "front" for money laundering.
She and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to an Instagram ID of Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of the said website.
The federal agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited.
She was communicating with him regarding "illegal liaisoning", the ED claimed, adding that the searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," it said.
The ED alleged that public money worth about Rs 18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
The ED claimed that besides this, a home loan of Rs 22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". He denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Detailing about Virk's web portal, the agency said it purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. However, the ED said the products listed on the website have been found to be non-existent and the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website uncovered minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the finding of "non-genuine" commercial activity, the ED claimed.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," it said.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Virk, was recorded.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
