Magnificent Markram forces India to chase 79 in final innings

Aiden Markram’s seventh Test century, an innings rich in quality and courage, delayed India’s seemingly inexorable march to a series-tying win at Newlands on Thursday. 

India will need 79 to win the Test, though even if they do so, South Africa will still retain the Freedom Trophy, which they claimed with the 2-1 series win in 2022.

The 29-year-old right-hander, whose spot in the starting XI always seems to be questioned despite his obvious talent, scored 106, an innings that stands apart in a match where batting has been made almost impossible by a spiteful pitch. 

His innings helped the Proteas reach 176, after their dismal 55 in the first innings and India's reply of 153 on a first day when 23 wickets tumbled. 

Despite the sun baking down on it again on the second morning, the surface continued to show signs of uneven bounce. Particularly disconcerting was some steepling bounce off a full length that even had Markram hopping around. 

However, he took to attacking anything remotely loose from the Indian bowlers with a ton that woke up the crowd and ensured the match would go into a fourth innings.

There were some characteristically lavish drives, several elegant clips through the leg side — some against balls delivered outside off stump — and a few breathtaking lofted on-drives. 

Arguably the highlight of the morning was a pull shot off Prasidh Krishna that Markram smashed over the railway stand and onto the adjacent tracks — fortunately no trains were passing through at the time. 

That shot, came in the midst of a 20-run over with Markram taking full toll against the young Krishna, playing in just his second Test match, who has struggled with both line and length throughout the series. 

Markram clipped back-to-back boundaries off India’s best bowler Jasprit Bumrah to bring up his 100, enthusiastically applauded by Dean Elgar, one of Markram’s closest mates in the team, who is playing his final Test here. 

Given how Markram was able to play, David Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne would have been kicking themselves for the loose strokes they played for their dismissals. Bedingham lasted six balls before driving at Bumrah, giving KL Rahul an easy catch after making 11. 

Then Verreynne, who has played poorly with the bat in all three innings South Africa have batted in the series, played another awful shot, scooping a pull to mid-on after making just six. 

With so much assistance already on offer for the bowlers, it is almost criminal to throw wickets away in the reckless fashion Verreynne and Bedingham did on Thursday. 

A little more application from both would have provided Markram with much-needed assistance and South Africa could have been in a position to set India a tricky fourth innings target. 

Instead, Bumrah got two wickets cheaply and then Keshav Maharaj also drove loosely at him, with the edge flying to gully where Shreyas Iyer took a good low catch. That was Bumrah’s fifth wicket, the ninth time he’d registered that landmark in his Test career. 

In Rabada, Markram found a partner able to stay with him and the latter farmed the strike well during a 51-run partnership for the eighth wicket. 

Having smacked another boundary off Mohammed Siraj, Markram, by then in full attack mode, miscued a pull to mid-off where Rohit Sharma took an easy catch. 

Markram’s 106 — off 103 balls, and which included 17 fours and two sixes — received a standing ovation from the Newlands crowd. 

Bumrah and Siraj wrapped up the innings, with the former, who’d bowled a seven-over spell in searing heat, finishing with 6/61 from 13.1 overs.