South African opener Aiden Markram turned out to be a savior for his team during the second innings of the Cape Town Test and became the sixth fastest South African batsman to score a Test ton. Markram played 106 innings off 103 balls and completed his century in 99 balls. However, wicketkeeper KL Rahul also gave Markram a chance when he dropped the catch on him.
After South Africa lost their seventh wicket for 111 runs in their second innings, Aiden Markram shifted gears and started hitting the Indian pacers all over the wicket. Markram hit Prasidh Krishna for 20 runs in his first over and hit two fours and two sixes in his first over.
The match could have gone either way if Aiden Markram had continued to bat in the second innings. However, the Indian team was finally able to dismiss Markram for 106 runs and was Rohit Sharma who captured his catch at long distance. Rohit hit the ball on the ground in anger and it was Mohammed Siraj who took his first wicket of the second innings.
Watch: Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill congratulate KL Rahul after Aiden Markram’s dismissal
After Aiden Markram was dismissed, Indian team players Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill congratulated KL Rahul. The three players shared a moment of joy and laughter after Markram came out. The video of the incident is going viral on social media. Here is the video:
Kohli and Gill congratulate KL after Markram’s exit😂😂#INDvSA #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/I2O9P4HT4v
— Planeta AzulVerde (@BluesWaltair) January 4, 2024
Aiden Markram failed to cross single digits in the first two innings of the two Tests against India. However, the way Markram played in the second innings of the Cape Town Test was commendable and was certainly one of the best innings of his Test career.
Coming back to the match, the Indian cricket team won the match by seven wickets and it was the Indian pacers who scripted their first win at the Sahara Park Newlands.
It was Mohammed Siraj in the first innings who took a six-wicket haul in the first innings, while Jasprit Bumrah was to blame for South Africa’s destruction in the second innings. Siraj on the one hand completed the match with figures of 6/15 in the first innings while it was Jasprit Bumrah who took 6/61 in the first innings.
However, the Indian team also faced a terrible batting collapse during their first innings and lost their last six wickets by 0 runs. None of the Indian batsmen apart from Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli could cross the digits.
While India won its first Test match in Cape Town, the Indian team also leveled the series by facing a defeat in the first Test match. India were defeated in the first Test match by an innings and 32 runs and fell to the sixth position in the WTC 2023-25 points table. However, India has regained its first place and will now want to qualify for another WTC final.
