Markram’s heroics paved the way for S. Africa’s win

South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by 102 runs in their high scoring world cup game against Sri Lanka played at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi ,India on Saturday. The 29 year old Centurion born right hander Aiden Kyle Markram was adjudged man of the match for his superb knock of 106 in just 54 balls with 14 fours and three sixes .

Markram is not the most expressive person on a cricket field at the best of times. He likes to keep it even while his explosive knock of the opening world cup game gave good entertainment for Delhi crowd.

Rassen van der Dussen the number three batter who came to the crease after departure of skipper Temba Bavuma is not too different. though, the duo and Quinton de Kock let their emotion pour out when they celebrated their hundreds. That show of emotion didn’t escape those watching, and for Markram it was not all about having just pulled off the fastest century in World Cups while all three batters pulverised the Sri Lankan bowlers The man of the match Markram said , it’s quite strange because you almost get this thing that just takes over your body at certain moments,”when asked about the unusual reactions on show. “I think there’s a lot of passion in this team to give our best at this World Cup and see how far it can get us. We’re known to start pretty slowly, be it in a series or maybe world events and things like that, so we put a lot of emphasis on today’s game; to start well and play the same cricket we’ve been playing that helped us to sneak us into this competition.

However a while later Sri Lanka number three batter Kusal Mendis was on fire .He threatened to take away Markram’s the shortest-held record for the fastest century in World Cups as he blitzed his way to 76 off 42 balls. That is why Markram is not treating this as some sort of warning for the rest of the field. Markram further said “I’m actually not too sure,” when asked if they had sent a message to the others. “The way batters are playing nowadays, you wouldn’t be surprised if that record is broken in this competition as well. So it’s nice for us to be able to go through the gears as a unit.”

This must be a cherry on top of what has been a satisfying year for him. He has now scored 683 runs at 68.3 at a strike rate of 127.4 in 2023, but what will be most satisfying for him is that he has had to reinvent himself after his promise at the top of the order didn’t quite translate into big runs in international cricket. He has now emerged as arguably the best middle-overs power-hitter in white-ball cricket in the world.

I think you do try to evolve as a batter and it’s weird when you bump your head a few times, maybe exploring options that are not your plan A and are not necessarily your strengths,” Markram said of the transformation. “ But you try to explore them in the nets, sometimes get confidence from it, try to bring it out in the game and it doesn’t work out and you go back home and you think: ‘Why am I doing that instead of sticking to my strengths?’

Markram hit brisk century but Kusal Mendis who stroked explosive knock of 76 in 42 balls with 4 fours and 8 well timed sixes always highly appreciated by international commentators and good come back from Sri Lanka but finally they fell short by102 chasing of 429 runs .

World cup records between Sri Lanka and South Africa

100 off 49 balls – Markram scored the fastest hundred in the ODI World Cup, breaking the 50-ball mark set by Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien against England in 2011.

754 – Runs scored in total by South Africa and Sri Lanka in Delhi, making it the highest aggregate for a men’s ODI World Cup match. The previous highest was 714 runs between Australia and Bangladesh during the 2019 edition at Trent Bridge.

428 for 5 – South Africa’s total against Sri Lanka in Delhi is the highest in the men’s ODI World Cup, surpassing the 417 for 5 by Australia against Afghanistan in 2015. It is also the highest ODI total against Sri Lanka , surpassing India’s 414 for 7 in 2009 in Rajkot.

31 – Sixes hit by South Africa and Sri Lanka in Delhi, the joint second most for a World Cup game. The 2019 game between England and Afghanistan in Manchester featured 33 sixes, while New Zealand and West Indies collectively hit 31 sixes in Wellington in the quarter-final of the 2015 edition.

3 – Hundreds in South Africa’s innings, the first such instance in the World Cup – Quinton de Kock (100), Rassie van der Dussen(108) and Aiden Markram (106).

4 – Number of specialist Sri Lanka bowlers who conceded 80-plus runs against South Africa – Kasun Rajitha (90), Dilshan Madushanka (86), Matheesha Pathirana (95) and Dunith Wellalage (81). It is the second instance of four bowlers conceding 80 plus runs in men’s ODI innings.

8 – Totals of 400-plus for South Africa in ODIs, the the most for any team Three of those have come at the World Cup, while all the other teams have two 400 plus scores in total. 3 – Previous instances of three players scoring hundreds in the same ODI innings .Two of them were by South Africa in 2015 – against West Indies in Johannesburg and India in Mumbai. England had three centurions when they made 498 against the Netherlands last year.

4 – Consecutive 300-plus totals for South Africa in ODIs; they had scored three in a row during the recent home series against Australia. It is the first time South Africa have made 300-plus totals in four consecutive ODIs.

204 – Partnership runs between de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen, the highest for South Africa against Sri Lanka in ODIs.

17 – ODI hundreds for de Kock before his maiden World Cup century on Saturday against Sri Lanka. No batter has scored more ODI tons before a maiden World Cup century.

The post Markram’s heroics paved the way for S. Africa’s win appeared first on DailyNews.