Aiden Markram spent at least a good half an hour bowling in the nets with Keshav Maharaj as South Africa started training at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday. With markers placed on the practice wicket, the duo bowled to Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince, who used to bat left-handed in his playing days.
The Proteas are neither spin-heavy nor spin-reliant. But the amount of time captain Markram and left-armer Maharaj spent bowling at practice hints that they
are banking on spin to trouble India’s batting group.
More so, as the defending champions haven’t really looked too comfortable against tweakers so far in this T20 World Cup, particularly off-break bowling. Even
Associate team spinners, like Gerhard Erasmus (Namibia) and Aryan Dutt (Netherlands), have found success against India.
Just as it was in India’s game against the Netherlands on Wednesday,
another black-soil pitch is set to be in use their opening Super Eight clash against South Africa here on Sunday, suggesting spinners would have an important role to play.
The Proteas have no specialist off-spinners in their squad, but they seem to be having faith in Markram — one of the pillars of their batting — and his off-spin.
Given the number of left-handed batters in the Indian team — Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube — Markram could cause some damage with his part-time off-spin. The spell he had at the nets with left-arm orthodox Maharaj appears to be an indication.
Also, Markram has the uncanny knack of taking a wicket out of nowhere and breaking partnerships, especially on wickets offering some purchase for spinners.
“In terms of off-spin, Aiden is the only place where South Africa can put India under pressure,” former Proteas limited-overs specialist Justin Kemp, currently
assistant coach of Namibia, told The Telegraph from Cape Town.
Batting-wise, Markram may not still be the best, but his blade continues to do the talking when his team requires him to. So far, he’s South Africa’s highest run-getter (178) with an average of 59.33 and a strike rate of 187.36.
“If Aiden continues to play like that, he will put India under pressure. In fact, the way he has been playing, he can put any side under pressure,” Kemp said.
If the captain can maintain that solidity at the top, it could be a stern test for India’s match-winner Varun Chakravarthy. One of the strong points of Markram is his extra focus on proper cricketing strokes instead of the cheeky, fancy ones that are common in this format.
All that he needs at present is a decent amount support from the others in the XI.