South Africa has been waiting for a CPI trophy for 27 years. They had won the 1998 Champions inaugural Trophy in Bangladesh and the following year they ended tragically in a semifinal tied against Australia in an absolute thriller.

The exhaustion of Allan Donald in the final left scars in the proteas psyche that never seems to be healing. They lost the semifinal of the Champions Trophy 2002 against India, which was followed by multiple exits of the group stages.

South Africa ready to let the anguish pass

They took a generation of talented players to reach the semifinals in the 2015 World Cup, but they were defeated by a Daryl Mitchell and New Zealand uproar in that game.

After that anguish, they reached the semifinal of the ODI 2023 World Cup, but lost to Australia. Finally they broke the last curse of four in 2024 by defeating the rookies Afghanistan in the semifinals, but lost the clash of the summit against India in an agonizing way.

They could not cross the semis stage at the 2025 Champions Trophy, but they had managed to reserve a final position at the World Championship 2023-25 ​​at that time.

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However, the year 2025 has been a period of alteration of Pedigrí for equipment waiting for a trophy. In football, clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Crystal Palace, Bologna, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United finished their trophies drought, while the Royal Bangalore (RCB) challenges finally left and lifted the title of the Premier League (IPL) of India. In Australia, Hobart Hurricanes had also won his first Big Bash League (BBL) title after 15 years of waiting.

The South African opener Aiden Markram felt that the team is aware of the new trend, but did not argue much about them.

Markram feels South Africa with advantage

However, he said they had talked about burying the past disappointments before the WTC final that begins on Wednesday in the Lord.

“This team is a bit different. The few of us who have been part of previous events that did not go to our path have treated, obviously we have talked to each other and make sure that we have buried it well and have taken some good lessons from him. But in addition to that now, it is more about the emotion of having another opportunity to really do the job.

He felt that South Africa, having played multiple series of two games, will help Australia.

“Many of our series have been two games series, so to win, it cannot start slowly. That has helped us on the road. We know the importance of starting well, trying to get ahead of the game early and how important each session will be. There is no second release. We have to make sure we move forward and we are pleasant and sharp, the first day,” he said.

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