Temba Bavuma reveals facing ‘chokers’ sledge in WTC final

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has revealed Australian players using their “chokers” tag to get inside their heads in the WTC final 2025.

South Africa have long been criticised for failing in the crucial ICC knockout stages or the finals throughout the years.

Their previous heartbreak came in the T20 World Cup 2024 when they lost to India in the final.

However, South Africa, under the captaincy of Temba Bavuma, had finally changed the narrative as they defeated Australia in the WTC final 2025 at Lord’s a day earlier.

Day 4 of the ultimate Test saw Bavuma and centurion Aiden Markram resume the innings as South Africa needed 69 runs to secure victory.

Despite three wickets falling on the fourth day, Markram stood firm and guided his team to the historic victory.

Following their triumph in the WTC final 2025, Temba Bavuma revealed that the ‘chokers’ label was thrown around to rattle the Proteas.

Read more: Cricket fraternity reacts to South Africa’s first ICC triumph in 27 years

“Playing against Australia is a bit different in the last couple of years. They’re not as vocal out on the field. They’re still aggressive through their body language, through obviously their skill, but there’s not a lot of chatter,” he said.

The South Africa captain added, “Of course, the tag of us being chokers, that came about this morning. One of their players threw out the fact that we could lose our eight wickets in less than 60 runs. I definitely heard that.”

It is pertinent to mention here that Temba Bavuma became the first captain to clinch the WTC title unbeaten.

During this WTC cycle, Bavuma led South Africa in eight games, with the Proteas winning seven and drawing one.

Overall, the South Africa captain has led the side in 10 Test matches, winning nine and drawing one, meaning he is still undefeated.