Aiden Markram's hundred is the best by a South African batter in Tests: Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen made the big claim that Aiden Markram's hundred in the World Test Championship final against Australia was the best innings by a South African batter in the longest format of the game. Markram scored a composed 136 off 207 balls that guided the Proteas to a 5-wicket win and helped them end their wait for an ICC title. advertisementMarkram hit 14 boundaries and formed an important partnership with captain Temba Bavuma to help South Africa get to the win. He was adjudged as the Player Of The Match for his knock. Pietersen, while talking to the broadcasters after the game, admitted that it may not have been the most attacking or entertaining knock, but when you factor in expectation, the stage and the pressure, it was an extraordinary knock. "Probably the best innings any South African batter has ever played in Test match cricket. It might not go down as the most attacking or entertaining if you look back at South Africa's Test history.'
'But when you factor in the expectation, the stage, and the pressure after failing in the first innings, it was extraordinary. Whether you're a batter or a bowler, when your country is counting on you and you have to deliver — that pressure is immense," said Pietersen. advertisementPietersen also noted that Markram was under immense pressure after losing Ryan Rickleton early. 'He lost (Ryan) Rickelton early, yet still went on to produce something truly magnificent. It's hard to even describe the kind of pressure he was under,' said Markram. What Markram said about his knockMarkram came into his match-winning knock after being dismissed for a duck in the first innings, and he said that luck did go his way in the end. The South African opener was happy to see the fans at Lord's and said it was a special day. "Weird how things work out, you get a duck. Ultimately, you get luck and it worked out. It will, yes. Lord's is a place where every Test cricketer wants to play. Plenty of South African fans were there and it was one of those special days. It's not always one-sided, you absorb the pressure and it was about maximising the scoring options," said Markram. Must Watch
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
40 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Aldrich Potgieter, PGA Tour's youngest player and biggest hitter, leads Rocket Classic by 2 strokes
DETROIT — Aldrich Potgieter, the PGA Tour's youngest player and its biggest hitter, had five straight birdies to surge into the third-round lead and finished with a 7-under 65 on Saturday for a two-shot edge. HT Image The 20-year-old tour rookie started the week averaging 326.6 yards off the tee — several yards longer than Rory McIlroy — and will be shooting for his first win on tour Sunday. Max Greyserman , Jake Knapp , Mark Hubbard , Andrew Putnam and Chris Kirk were two shots back. Three more players were another stroke behind. Collin Morikawa, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 5 in the world, shot a 68 to start the final round four shots back. Two years ago in Detroit, he was outlasted by Rickie Fowler in a playoff. Morikawa, a two-time major champion, has not won on the tour since October 2023 at the Zozo Championship in Japan. Potgieter was born in South Africa, moved to Australia when he was 8 and returned to South Africa at age 17 because the COVID-19 pandemic limited his chances to compete. In a nod to his native country, his white golf shoes have the South African flag on the outside of his heels. He won the British Amateur at the age of 17 and became the youngest Korn Ferry Tour winner last year, paving the way for him to become the second-youngest player to earn a PGA Tour card through the minor league just after his 20th birthday. The youngest was Jason Day, who was 19 in 2007. Potgieter was in a position to win earlier this year. He lost a playoff at the Mexico Open in February, when Brian Campbell got a big break when his tee shot on the second extra hole went off tree and back in play. He missed the next four cuts and and seven of eight before he was tied for sixth at the Charles Schwab Challenge last month in his last PGA Tour start last month. While the Detroit Golf Club is one of the easiest courses on the PGA Tour, it will likely be challenging for the world's 123rd-ranked player to hold off the competition. Potgieter's driver certainly gives him a shot, but he also flashed some of his finesse during his birdie streak on the front nine in the third round. He opened with a birdie on a 35-foot shot from a bunker. His approach on the par-5 seventh was buried in the rough, pin high and 78 feet to the right of the cup. He lofted the ball past the hole and it rolled back toward it, setting up an eight-foot birdie putt. At the 372-yard, par-4 eighth hole, he waited for Kevin Roy and Michael Thorbjornsen to exit the green because he was going for it. Potgieter pulled out his driver and sent the ball over towering trees and through the green before it finally rested in the rough 374 yards from the tee. He went on to make an 11-foot putt for his fifth straight birdie and sixth of the afternoon to help him shoot a 30 on the front nine for a two-shot lead. He cooled off on the back nine with a birdie at No. 13 and lipping out on a 7-foot putt at the 14th, missing a chance to birdie the par 5, and closed with five pars in a row. golf: /hub/golf This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
India Gazette
43 minutes ago
- India Gazette
"He set a very good atmosphere around": Prasidh Krishna hails Shubman Gill's Test captaincy
Leeds [UK], June 28 (ANI): Following the loss against England in the first Test of the five-match series at Headingley, India's right-arm seamer Prasidh Krishna shared his thoughts on newly appointed Test skipper Shubman Gill where he said the young middle-order batter had a 'very good atmosphere' in the dressing room. Speaking on Gill's captaincy and leadership skills at the press-conference, Krishna said, 'I think he did a pretty good job. All of us saw how he rotated the bowlers, made sure everybody had enough breaks, brought in people at the right kind of spells, he saw opportunities and brought in the right kind of bowlers. All of that was great and knowing him, he set a very good atmosphere around. He's been speaking to all of us, we always go in with a plan and the communication is happening there.' Gill joined the elite list of Indians, which includes Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, Vijay Hazare and Dilip Vengsarkar to score 100 on Test captaincy debut. He achieved this feat in his outing against England on Day 1 of the first test of the five-test match series on Friday at Leeds Headingley. This is also the start of the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for both also completed 2000 runs in test cricket, the batter took 60 innings to achieve this feat. Both Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli completed 2000 test runs in their first match as captain. Gill is the 23rd player to score a century in a debut innings as captain and the fourth youngest among those behind Herbie Taylor, Alastair Cook, and Steven brought up his 100 in 140 deliveries in an innings peppered with 14 boundaries as he kept India steady. This was his sixth century in test, and he also has seven fifties to his name. Alongside Gill, Indian batter Yashasvi Jaiswal also scored a brilliant century. He was dismissed by England skipper Ben Stokes right after Tea on Day 1 for 101 runs; his innings included 16 fours and a six. Further, the pacer spoke about the five-wicket loss which his team faced in the first test against the Three Lions at the Leeds, Headingley. 'The dressing room is still nice and happy and very, very motivated. Like I said, we came here knowing what this opportunity meant for all of us and even in the game today, we might have looked quiet at some stages but I think we still had a plan, we wanted to do something and we went about doing it and we got two wickets in a cluster twice so that still kept the motivation going and then, you know as a bowling unit when something is happening, we still ended up taking the new ball. They needed about 20 runs with the same hope of something is going to happen. So we are still there believing we made sure till the last run is scored, we are still out there and making sure they work hard for it,' the 29-year-old player added. The second Test between England and India will take place at Birmingham from July 2 onwards.(ANI)
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Sri Lanka crush Bangladesh in second Test to seal series
Sri Lanka completed a thumping innings and 78-run victory over Bangladesh before lunch on day four of the second Test in Colombo on Saturday, wrapping up the two-match series 1-0. Resuming the day on a precarious 115-6, the visitors still trailed by 97 runs and needed a minor miracle to avoid an innings defeat. Any hopes of a rearguard were dashed almost immediately. Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, under the pump after a wicketless outing in the first innings, struck gold with the fifth ball of the morning as Litton Das edged behind to wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis for 14. With that scalp, the last recognised batter was back in the hut and Bangladesh's house of cards came tumbling down soon after, all out for 133. It was a clinical all-round performance by hosts Sri Lanka, who walked away with crucial World Test Championship points. None of the visiting batters managed to cross fifty in the match -- a far cry from the first Test in Galle, which ended in a draw when captain Najmul Hossain Shanto hit twin centuries. Bangladesh had won the toss on a docile Colombo pitch but squandered the advantage, bundled out for 247. Sri Lanka replied in commanding fashion, piling on 458 to take a hefty 211-run lead. The foundation was laid by a masterclass from opener Pathum Nissanka, who crafted a fluent 158 -- his second successive century in the series -- while Dinesh Chandimal chipped in with a polished 93. The pair added 194 runs for the second wicket, putting the game firmly in Sri Lanka's control. Bangladesh threatened briefly when the second new ball brought them three quick wickets, but Kusal steadied the ship with a counterattacking 84, ensuring the hosts didn't let the momentum slip. Nissanka, who was declared man of the match, said he was "very pleased with the effort". "It feels good to contribute. I am now the senior opener with Dimuth Karunaratne retired and I try to do my best for the team," he said. Bangladesh captain Shanto called it a "very disappointing game". "We played really well in Galle but we were not up to the mark here," he said. "The way we batted in the first innings is when things went wrong for us. A total of 247 was not good on this pitch. "No harm with the decision to bat first. But the way we got out was very disappointing. One good thing was the way our bowlers kept fighting. "That will be one positive we will take from this series." The two sides will now shift focus to the limited-overs leg of the tour, with three one-day internationals and three T20s. Brief scores: Bangladesh first innings: 247 all out in 79.3 overs (Shadman Islam 46, Mushfiqur Rahim 35, Sonal Dinusha 3-22, Asitha Fernando 3-51) Sri Lanka first innings: 458 all out in 116.5 overs (Pathum Nissanka 158, Dinesh Chandimal 93, Kusal Mendis 84, Taijul Islam 5-131) Bangladesh second innings: 133 all out in 44.2 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 26, Prabath Jayasuriya 5-56)
