Aiden Markram reminds us a little of Jacques Kallis: Aakash Chopra

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has come out all praises for the South African opening batter Aiden Markram for showing exceptional grit in the fourth innings of the ongoing WTC 2025 Final against Australia at Lord’s in London.

At Stumps on Day 3, Markram was batting on 102* off 159 balls with 11 fours as South Africa needed only 69 runs with eight wickets in hand to win the WTC silverware against the defending champions Australia. 

"He is the only South African batter to score a hundred in an ICC men's final. He became the third centurion in WTC final history. He is the first to score a hundred in the fourth innings," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, Chopra compared Markram with Kallis for displaying his technique when his team needed him the most in the tough fourth innings. Markram received a good support from his skipper Temba Bavuma, who is batting on 65* off 121 balls with five fours.

"Let me put my hand up. I had said that the decision to bowl first after winning the toss wasn't a good one because there would be fourth-innings pressure. 282 runs are a lot, but he dwarfed that total. His technical foundation is excellent. He reminds us a little of Jacques Kallis," he added.

"What would have been the difficulties for Aiden Markram? One, he was playing only T20 cricket for the last two months. So he had to unlearn his T20 habits and then focus on Test cricket. That's a difficult job," he stated.

"Secondly, he got out for zero in the first innings. That was also a problem. Wickets have fallen here with the new ball. If you see the first three innings, wickets had fallen with the new ball in every inning. He ensured that he came with a positive mindset," Chopra concluded.

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