London [UK], June 14 : Legendary England batter Kevin Pietersen hailed Aiden Markram's ICC World Test Championship (WTC) title-sealing century at Lord's against Australia, calling it the "best innings played by a South African in Test match cricket".
Markram's century, Kagiso Rabada's nine wicket-haul and a resilient half-century by skipper Temba Bavuma were the highlights as South Africa secured their first-ever world title in the history of international cricket, defeating Australia by five wickets at Lord's.
Following the match, JioStar expert Pietersen hailed Markram's knock as "extraordinary", factoring in the expectation and the stage where it came.
"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 are a batter or a bowler, when your country is counting on you and you have to deliver -- that pressure is immense. He lost Rickelton early, yet still went on to produce something truly magnificent. It's hard to even describe the kind of pressure he was under," Pieterse said.
Also, another JioStar expert, Sanjay Bangar, said that Markram's hard work paid off when he settled, and everything shifted in his favour. Bangar also highlighted the value of self-belief, which he said South Africa had in their "collective strength".
"Markram was the face of that belief. But what drives such performances is the camaraderie in the dressing room. When Markram asked Bavuma to stay with him at the crease no matter what, and Bavuma did just that -- it shows the strength of their bond. In the end, these moments bring out a superhero -- and today, that superhero was Markram, and deservedly so," he added.
Coming to the match, on day first, Proteas won the toss and opted to bowl first. They dominated the first session with the ball, as fiery spells from Rabada (5/51) and Marco Jansen (3/49) reduced Australia to 67/4. A 79-run stand between Steve Smith (66 in 112 balls, with 10 fours) and Beau Webster (72 in 92 balls, with 11 fours) and a 46-run stand between Carey (23 in 31 balls, with four boundaries) and Webster took Australia to 212 all out.
With the help of early two wickets from Starc and contributions from Cummins and Hazlewood helped Australia reduced South Africa to 43/4 at day one end, with Bavuma (3*) and Bedingham (0*) unbeaten. A six-fer from skipper Pat Cummins (6/28) helped Australia bundle out Proteas for 138 runs and secure a 74-run lead, despite a half-century run-stand between skipper Temba Bavuma (36 in 84 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and David Bedingham (45 in 111 balls, with six fours).
In their second innings, Australia was reduced to 73/7, but a 61-run stand between Alex Carey (46 in 50 balls, with five fours) and Mitchell Starc (58* in 136 balls, with five fours), who also put a last wicket stand of 59 runs with Josh Hazlewood. Australia was bundled out for 207 runs, leading by 281 runs.
Rabada (4/59) and Ngidi (3/38) were the pick of the bowlers for South Africa.
In the run-chase, Proteas lost Ryan Rickelton early, but a 61-run stand between Wiaan Mulder (27 in 50 balls, with five fours) and Markram put Proteas on track. An even gigantic, 147 run stand between Markram (136 in 207 balls, with 14 fours) and skipper Bavuma (66 in 134 balls, with five fours) followed, rattling Australia. Despite Starc (3/63) attempting to keep Aussies alive, Kyle Verreyne hit the winning runs for South Africa to take them to their first ICC title since the ICC Knockout 1998.
Markram took home the 'Player of the Match' award.