Riding on a sensational century by Aiden Markram (136), South Africa defeated Australia by five wickets to clinch the World Test Championship at Lord's on Saturday.

Australia was the defending champion of the title.

Chasing 282 runs, a tough target on the wicket where bowlers were finding movement, South African batsmen kept themselves focused and reached the winning score by losing just five wickets.

Aiden Markram played a heroic knock where he hit 14 boundaries to ensure South Africa a major ICC title, ending their chokers tag.

Apart from Aiden, skipper Temba Bavuma (66) made crucial contributions, which helped South Africa cruise to victory.

David Bedingham scored 21 runs at the end of the innings to aid South Africa's run chase.

In 1998, South Africa won the ICC trophy under Hansie Cronje's leadership, but since then, the country has faltered in the major events.

Last year, India beat South Africa in the final of the T20 World Cup.

In the tense match, Australia tried to bounce back at regular intervals in the clash.

Mitchell Starc took three wickets while Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins scalped a wicket each to give South Africa a tough challenge.

South Africa is now the third team after New Zealand and Australia to win the title.