Johannesburg - A 129-run third wicket partnership between Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram saw South Africa post 278/7 in the second One-Day International against India in Ranchi on Sunday.
Hendricks, who wasn’t picked in the three match T20 series and missed the opening ODI last Thursday, scored 74, while Markram made 79 as the pair provided the perfect platform for what the tourists would have hoped would be a bigger total than the one they finished with.
Keshav Maharaj, captained the team in the absence of Temba Bavuma and chose to bat first on a steamy day in the north eastern Indian city. The pitch was dry and easy paced, and scoring against the hard new ball looked effortless.
Quinton de Kock started the match with a straight drive for four, but was dismissed at the start of the third over, in what’s become common fashion for him, by inside edging the ball onto his stumps.
LOOKING GOOD AIDEN 👌
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 9, 2022
A fifth ODI half-century for Aiden Markram as he starts to increase his scoring rate#INDvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/uTiLWuMdZw
Having played some elegant drives, Janneman Malan would have been furious with himself for getting to 25 but he was then trapped lbw by debutant Shahbaz Ahmed, giving the 27-year-old all-rounder his first international wicket.
That dismissal brought Hendricks and Markram together and the pair methodically built their partnership. Markram occasionally looked frustrated as a number of good shots hit fielders.
Hendricks was more patient however. Given his first opportunity since South Africa’s tour to the UK, his form there has led to a difficult situation for the national selectors as they have sought to provide limited overs captain Bavuma with opportunities to regain form ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Bavuma and wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi missed Sunday’s match with what the team's management described as "mild infection." Hendricks took the opportunity to remind everyone that he was still in good form, producing an innings filled with sumptuous stroke-play.
The highlights included two lofted cover drives as he scored 74, an innings that included nine fours and a six. He’d have been irritated at his dismissal, as he clubbed a short ball on leg stump to the deep midwicket boundary where Shahbaz took an easy catch.
Markram, who struggled to read the Indian wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, produced enough good shots against the other bowlers to register a 10th half century.
He was looking to play a late innings anchor role and took a back seat in a 46-run fourth wicket partnership with Heinrich Klaasen, who made 30 off 26 balls. However Markram and Klaasen were dismissed within three balls of each other, opening the door for India to apply pressure in the last 10 overs. Markram slapped a long hop from left-arm spinner Washington Sundar to cover after top scoring with 79, an innings that included seven fours and a six.
The last 10 overs turned into a struggle, with the balls getting scuffed and soft, making boundary hitting extremely difficult. The Proteas scored just 67 runs off the last 60 balls with just five boundaries - one of which came courtesy of byes - coming in that period.
IOL Sport