"Doesn’t look pretty": Aiden Markram admits concerns over South Africa's batting woes after 2nd T20I

Aiden Markram's South Africa hosted the Suryakumar Yadav-led India in the second T20I of the four-match series at St George's Park in Gqeberha on Sunday, November 10.

The Aiden Markram-led South Africa National Cricket Team won the match by 3 wickets with 6 balls remaining. Next, the action will move to SuperSport Park in Centurion, which will host the third T20I on Wednesday, November 13.

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South Africa beat India in a thriller

After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, South Africa dominated the Indian team. The bowlers were right on the money and dismissed the opening duo early on in the innings.

They were brilliant with their lines and lengths and kept the pressure on the Indian batters. A brilliant performance from the bowlers ensured India didn't score big, as they were restricted to 124/6.

Chasing the total, South African batters looked absolutely clueless against Varun Chakravarthy, who bagged 5 wickets. However, Tristan Stubbs, along with Gerald Coetzee, batted brilliantly and took the Proteas past the finish line.

I thought we bowled really well - Aiden Markram

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Aiden Markram lauded his bowlers for doing a great job and executing their plans really well. He stated:

"I thought we bowled really well, some really good plans and our bowlers executed really well."

Aiden Markram, however, was disappointed with the batting performance of South Africa and said that losing wickets in clusters made them look poor. He said:

"From the batting point of view, you want to break it at the mid-way stage but it didn't work out. Sometimes when you lose wickets in a cluster it doesn't look pretty. We need to take it on the chin, we are definitely going to keep our brand of cricket going."

Aiden Markram further showered rich praise on Tristan Stubbs, Gerald Coetzee as well as other youngsters and expressed his delight over the win. Aiden Markram elaborated:

"(On Stubbs and Coetzee) They are coming in after a break, nice to see the fire in their bellies. Really proud of course, the role Simelane and Peter played with the ball was massive. To all the guys on the younger side, they inspired the older guys. We need to take one game at at time. We won this game to level the series and we are happy."

South Africa had lost the first T20I after struggling with both bat and ball

South Africa faced a huge 61-run defeat in the first T20I, struggling to match India’s formidable performance. Chasing a steep target of 203, South Africa lost early momentum when captain Aiden Markram was dismissed in the first over. Ryan Rickelton attempted to counter-attack, scoring 21 off 11 balls with three boundaries and a six, but he was dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy.

Heinrich Klaasen’s gritty 25 off 22 balls provided some resistance, but with wickets tumbling around him, he, too, fell prey to Chakravarthy, leaving South Africa in a challenging position.

David Miller also couldn’t find his rhythm and managed only 18 off 22 balls before miscuing a shot to Avesh Khan. Gerald Coetzee displayed an aggressive batting and came up with a quickfire 23 off 11 balls, including three sixes, but the target was too far out of reach by then.

Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi posed constant challenges, picking up three wickets each and stifling the middle order’s scoring potential.

In the bowling department, Gerald Coetzee claimed three wickets and Marco Jansen bowled economically, taking 1 for 24 in his four overs. However, the Indian batting onslaught, led by Sanju Samson’s blistering century, left South Africa with too much to chase.