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India Vs South Africa, 2nd Test: Aiden Markram Breaks Proteas' Century-Old Record During Cape Town Classic

The South African batter was the sole ray of hope for the hosts in India vs South Africa, 3rd Test, scoring more than 50 per cent of his team's runs and, thus, breaking a record that has stood the test of time

Aiden Markram bats on Day 1 of the 2nd Test against West Indies on Wednesday.
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Aiden Markram's battling display at the Newlands Cricket Ground was the saving grace of the hosts' disastrous second-innings in India vs South Africa, 2nd Test. Markram scored 106 runs in 103 balls, leading the charts for his team by an incredible margin with their second-highest run-scorer, captain Dean Elgar, managing just 12. Markram's six-past-ton accounted for 60 per cent of South Africa's runs in the innings, taking him ahead of Herbie Taylor's century-old record. (RSA Vs IND Scorecard | Match Blog)

Markam's efforts, however, went in vain, as India beat South Africa by seven wickets to tie the series 1-1. The visitors had limited the home side to just 55 runs in the first innings, courtesy of Mohammed Siraj's six-wicket haul. Batting second, India then put nearly a hundred runs between them and their opponents, before a sensational collapse saw the Men in Blue lose six wickets for zero runs to end their first innings. South Africa returned to bat on an incredible Day 1 of the second Test, managing to cut into the lead India had left for them to chase. 

However, things took a turn for the worse for South Africa on Day 2, as Jasprit Bumrah knocked six wickets down to restrict the disparaged hosts to a 79-run lead, which, in turn, India chased down with relative ease. 

Highest percentage of runs in a completed Test innings for South Africa

60.22 - Aiden Markram vs India, Cape Town, 2024

59.89 - Herbie Taylor vs England, Durban (Lord’s), 1913

59.88 - Jimmy Sinclair vs England, Cape Town, 1899

59.2 - Graeme Pollock vs Australia, Cape Town, 1966

56.56 - Trevor Goddard vs Australia, Cape Town, 1957