Belief surges for South Africa as Markram makes amends in style
South Africa’s centurion felt responsible for shortcoming in Ranchi as he set the stage for the big hitters
Firdose Moonda03-Dec-20254:14
Takeaways: Markram and SA’s middle order ace record chase
From handing India their heaviest Test defeat by runs in Guwahati to chasing down their own highest successful target away from home in Raipur, it’s fair to say South Africa’s tour is going rather well, even if Aiden Markram hasn’t quite seen all of it.Markram admitted he was “hiding at the back of the change-room” when Corbin Bosch and Keshav Maharaj completed a series-levelling win, and hoping no-one would notice his nerves. “It feels like everything’s going along smoothly, and then all of a sudden the game might change,” he said. “At the death, the run-rate can go up really quickly as well. I was biting my nails and trying not to engage with anyone.”He emerged when the winning runs were hit to tell the next batter in – injured Nandre Burger – that he was “impressed with how calm he was, because I would never have been that way”. To be fair to Markram, he was also carrying something else: pressure to perform in his primary discipline, especially after the way things went in the series opener. Chasing 350 in Ranchi on Sunday, South Africa had been 11 for 3 in the fifth over of their reply. Markram, the third man out on that occasion, felt “responsible” for that poor start and was determined to make amends. So he became the pace-setter for a similar chase in similar conditions today.He seized the initiative in his 98-ball 110, batting aggressively from the get-go when he made Harshit Rana pay for small errors in length and line in his opening over, then steadying things after the early wicket of de Kock by taking pressure off Temba Bavuma, who took some time to settle. Even as the required run-rate climbed, neither Markram nor Bavuma looked hurried with the top-order blow-out from three days earlier top of their minds. Neither did Markram seem overly fussed when his 101-run stand with Bavuma was broken, as he was well set enough to understand what he needed to do.In Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi and especially Dewald Brevis, South Africa have exciting players who bat with freedom and they want to encourage them to keep playing that way. That means, more often than not, that Markram has to drop anchor. He and Breetzke duly saw off a Kuldeep Yadav over but, given the opportunity to ramp Prasidh Krishna, charge Washington Sundar and hit Ravindra Jadeja over his head, Markram still took his chances. Though he was scoring at a rapid rate, his 88-ball century was still the slowest of the four in his ODI career and the only one he’s so far made in a chase. When he was dismissed, he did not yet know it would be in a successful cause, which was actually all that he cared about. “Runs only matter if you win games to be fair, or at least for me,” Markram said.Dewald Brevis and Matthew Breetzke carried on the chase for South Africa•BCCISo he would have been furious when, at the end of the 30th over, he was foxed by a Harshit slower ball with South Africa 162 runs away from victory. They had seven wickets in hand, so the equation was favourable, but their most experienced batters were all out and they had to rely on the mavericks.Breetzke, with an intensity his former SA20 captain Keshav Maharaj in the past has compared to Virat Kohli’s, is fast moving out of the latter category into the former. He has seven fifties from his first 11 ODIs and the consistency of his game means South Africa have confidence in him. “He managed the situation really well today,” Markram said. “He has only played 11 games but the way he batted today, it was like this guy’s got at least 50 caps under his belt.”When Markram was caught at long-on, Breetzke had reached a run-a-ball 23 and the required run-rate was just above eight an over. He didn’t go for broke immediately. The next two overs brought only four runs and when the third seemed to be going the same way, Brevis made room for himself to hit Kuldeep for a straight six. That over went for 10 but the one after it, just three. Breetzke only got a boundary in the following over thanks to a combination of dew and a Kuldeep misfield at short third, but he let Brevis do the big-hitting, as anyone would.”Obviously Brevis hits the ball miles,” Markram said. “He takes the game on and he’s not afraid to put bowlers under pressure and stuff like that. As cricket lovers, it’s great to watch. It’s really entertaining.”Brevis reached a 33-ball fifty to overtake Breetzke and though he was out the ball after he raised his bat, his breezy innings changed the momentum. By the 40th over, South Africa’s required run-rate was under eight and when Brevis was dismissed, it had dipped to 7.5. That allowed de Zorzi and Breetzke to bat normally, and not take many risks. Even when Breetzke was trapped lbw, and de Zorzi had to limp off the field with a hamstring concern, South Africa didn’t have to panic. They bat deep, down to Maharaj at No.9, though he may not like how Markram assessed his ability. “We’ve got eight really good batters and then Kesh who can do his thing,” he said.No offence was intended. Ahead of Maharaj, South Africa have the two seam-bowling allrounders, Marco Jansen and Bosch, whom they back to hunt down big totals. “We’ve got some great hitters and great batters in the middle to lower order,” Markram said. “If you give them a chance, they can do damage.”Related
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In the first match, with South Africa 228 for 7 in the 34th over, chasing 350, Jansen and Bosch manufactured their team’s chance as they each went past their half-centuries, though they ultimately fell 17 runs short. In this one, they were given the opportunity to finish the chase off and they did. “We can do incredible things when things are set up,” Bosch told the broadcasters. “There’s always the belief that we can chase anything.”Over the last two months, on the tours in the subcontinent, South Africa have used that b-word liberally and it shows that theirs is growing, which is exactly what they want ahead of a series decider on Saturday.”To chase quite a big number, I think gives the group belief and confidence that the next time we’re in that position, we can do it again,” Markram said. “We’re playing a world-class team in their home conditions and to get a win against India in their own backyard is no easy feat.”The series finale will be played in Vizag on Saturday.