South Africa vice-captain Aiden Markram was in fine touch as he smashed a 23-ball fifty against England in the first ODI of the three-match series at Headingley, Leeds, on Tuesday. The right-handed batter took a special liking to debutant pacer Sonny Baker as he kept dispatching him to the boundary. As a result of this onslaught, South Africa registered a comprehensive seven-wicket win to gain a 1-0 lead in the series.
In their chase of 132, South Africa went past the 50-run mark in the sixth over, registering their third-fastest fifties in ODIs. Markram also smashed the fastest fifty by a South African batter against England, breaking Chris Morris’ record. The Proteas all-rounder had gone past the 50-run mark off 30 balls in 2016 at the Wanderers, Johannesburg.
Markram made his intentions clear right from the first ball, smashing three boundaries in the opening over bowled by Baker. In the second over, bowled by the same pacer, Markram hit two sixes and a four, leaving the hosts rattled.
This onslaught helped South Africa get off to a flying start, as Markram eventually scored his 50 on the final ball of the seventh over.
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Baker kept on leaking runs, but England captain Harry Brook remained consistent in his plans, refraining from removing the speedster from the attack. By the time Brydon Carse was introduced, Markram had got his eye firmly in.
Markram and Ryan Rickelton registered South Africa’s first 100+ opening stand against England in ODIs since Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock’s 239-run stand at Centurion in 2016. Markram eventually lost his wicket for 86off 55 balls of Adil Rashid’s bowling.
In the end, South Africa went over the line with 187 balls to spare as Rickelton and Dewald Brevis remained unbeaten on 31 and 6 respectively. For England, all three wickets were taken by Rashid.
South Africa bowl out England for 131
Earlier, South Africa displayed a pitch-perfect bowling performance after opting to field. The visitors bowled out England for 131 in 25 overs, and Keshav Maharaj returned with four wickets.
Wiaan Mulder also took three wickets while Nandre Burger and Lungi Ngidi took one each. Jamie Smith was the top scorer for England with a knock of 54 off 48 balls.
England registered their fourth-lowest ODI total against South Africa. This was England’s second-lowest total at Headingley and also their second-lowest ODI score against the Proteas at home.
Six England batters were dismissed for single-digit scores. It was a total surrender by the hosts against an in-form South African lineup who arrived on UK shores on the back of a 2-1 series win against Australia Down Under.