South African stand-in skipper Aiden Markram lauded the team after a collective performance against England as they registered a massive win of 229 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday. After losing the early wicket of Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, and Rassie van der Dussen added 121 runs for the second wicket.
Hendricks played some stunning shots against Adil Rashid and he was brilliant in the extra cover region. He scored 85 whereas Rassie played a crucial knock of 60 runs to continue his rich form.
However, the match was turned on its head as Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen made great use of the platform on a belter of a pitch. Klaasen hammered 109 runs off just 67 balls whereas Jansen scored 75 runs from 42 balls. The duo added 151 runs for the sixth wicket as they took their team to an above-par score.
Markram also scored a decent knock of 42 runs for his team. On the other hand, Gerald Coetze scalped three wickets whereas Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen snared two wickets apiece. England kept losing wickets at regular intervals and thus they were dismissed for only 170 runs after eight wickets for 100 runs.
Aiden Markram said in the post-match presentation, “Fantastic all-round performance. Was a great effort. We know England like chasing. We were comfortable batting first. Thankfully, our pacers were not roasted bowling first under the sun. Really great knock from Reeza. He has been around for a long time. That helped. He has been practicing every day. Got rewarded today.”
He added, “We have Miller at 6 and Klaasen at 5. That’s a destructible pair. [on Jansen] Fantastic to see that he showcased his ability on a global stage like this. Jansen is having a great time. He takes a pride in his batting. He has been practising a lot. Had a great partnership with Klaasen. That loss hurt us. Great way to bounce back.”
South Africa will next take on Bangladesh at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Tuesday.
