Aiden Markram completes 50 appearances in Test cricket: Stats
What's the story
Star batter Aiden Markram has become the latest South African player to complete 50 Test matches. The second Test between South Africa and India at Guwahati's Barsapara Cricket Stadium marked his milestone. Though Markram hasn't been a consistent performer in the format, he has played some incredible knocks over the years. Here we look at his stats and records.
Stats
Over 3,000 runs in the format
Having scored 38 in the first innings of the game, Markram has raced to 3,163 Test runs at an average of 35.54. This includes 21 scores of 50 or more, including eight tons. Markram, who made his Test debut in October 2017, has over 3,000 runs as an opener in Tests. Only four other South African batters boast more Test runs at this position.
WTC final
A knock of ages in WTC final
Earlier this year, Markram played a defining role in helping his side win the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord's. Chasing 282 for victory, Markram scored 136 from 207 balls as SA clinched their 2nd ICC title across formats. Markram recorded his third fourth-innings ton as an opener. Only Sunil Gavaskar (4) and Graeme Smith (4) have more centuries in this regard.
Toss
SA elect to bat
Meanwhile, SA won the toss and opted to bat first. Having clinched a series opener in Kolkata, the visitors are eyeing a famous series win. SA has made one change to their XI, bringing in spinner Senuran Muthusamy for Corbin Bosch. For India, Sai Sudharsan comes in for Axar Patel, while Nitish Kumar Reddy is included in the absence of the injured Shubman Gill.
XIs
Here are the playing XIs
South Africa (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj. India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Information
How did Markram fare in his milestone game?
Markram made a fine contribution in his milestone match. He got SA off to a fine start by adding 82 runs with fellow opener Ryan Rickelton. The former fell to Jasprit Bumrah after scoring 38 off 81 balls. He hammered five fours during his stay.