Published: Jan 14, 2018, 08:44 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 14, 2018, 08:44 AM (IST)
South Africa’s innings were off to a flier at Centurion courtesy Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar. Markram dented India’s hope of a stunning start, after they were put into bowl by Faf du Plessis. Unfortunately for Markram, his innings came to an end on 94: Ravichandran Ashwin got him caught behind. Such was Markram’s knock that even Indian skipper Virat Kohli could not stop himself from lauding the 23-year-old.
Speaking about Kohli, Markram at the press conference said: “He came across and said, ‘Well played, you were unlucky to get out.’ It was a great touch from him. He is a massive competitor as everyone sees on the TV, but it’s great to see that he has got good values that people off the field might not see. It was a great gesture and it meant a lot.”
He along with Elgar added 85 runs for the first wicket. Ashwin claimed both scalps to push India back into the game.
Speaking about Ashwin, Markram said: “We didn’t expect there to be so much assistance for him. Ashwin was difficult to face. He is difficult to face on a flat wicket as well, so it did work out well for him I suppose.”
Markram went on to praise Ashwin for his bowling. He added, “Ashwin is a world class bowler. He always asking the right questions and he sets smart fields. It is not easy out there. I don’t think he would have expected to bowl as much today judging on how last week went.”
Talking about his own innings, Markram sounded dejected. He said: “Obviously, I am bitterly disappointed. It’s the second time in a short career, but I’m just going to keep saying it’s part of the game and try to be positive. Next time I get into those situations I’ll take lessons from what I’ve learnt today and hopefully get through to three figures. Even if we were ended the day two down, I still would have been disappointed. It was a bit of a nothing shot. I am not over it just yet. My next role is to try and save runs in the field and do what ever I can before we stuck in again. Probably be on in a positive space,”
