Often posed with criticisms for not fulfilling the talent the world saw in him, South Africa opener Aiden Markram finally made amends on Friday with a stoic century in a historic ICC World Test Championship final chase against Australia at Lord’s.
Faced with a stern 282-run target, South Africa rode on Markram’s flawless century, making him the first South Africa batter to hit a century in an ICC final and third batter in WTC finals history after Steve Smith and Travis Head. The former Proteas captain made it all the more special, with his riposte coming after a first-innings duck at the hand of Australia pacer Mitchell Starc, with South Africa ceding a 74-run first-innings lead to Australia.
Former India opener lauded Markram’s effort while also likening his solid technique to South Africa legend Jacques Kallis.
“He is the only South African batter to score a hundred in an ICC men’s final. He became the third centurion in WTC final history. He is the first to score a hundred in the fourth innings,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.”Let me put my hand up. I had said that the decision to bowl first after winning the toss wasn’t a good one because there would be fourth-innings pressure. 282 runs are a lot, but he dwarfed that total. His technical foundation is excellent. He reminds us a little of Jacques Kallis,” he added.
Coming off his best IPL season for the Lucknow Super Giants, Chopra said that Markram had to unlearn the tempo that let him smash 445 runs with fifties and a 148-plus strike rate.
“What would have been the difficulties for Aiden Markram? One, he was playing only T20 cricket for the last two months. So he had to unlearn his T20 habits and then focus on Test cricket. That’s a difficult job,” Chopra said.
“Secondly, he got out for zero in the first innings. That was also a problem. Wickets have fallen here with the new ball. If you see the first three innings, wickets had fallen with the new ball in every inning. He ensured that he came with a positive mindset,” Chopra observed.
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On Saturday, Markram will resume batting on 102 alongside skipper Temba Bavuma (62 not out) as South Africa stand 69 runs away from their first ICC title in 27 years.
