Cape Town [South Africa]: India took a step closer to levelling the series following Jasprit Bumrah's six-wicket haul which made South Africa succumb to a total of 176 on Day 2 of the second Test in Newlands.
South Africa's 176 meant India need to chase down 79 runs to level the series within two days. The hosts resumed the innings on Day 2 with a score of 62/3 trailing by 36 runs.
The first session once again saw wickets falling at a brisk pace but this time Aiden Markram stood up for his team and scored a quick-fire knock of 106 off 103 deliveries to give South Africa a total to defend.
Markram stepped up on a surface that assisted the pacers offering them inconsistent bounce which kept the batters on their toes. While Bumrah cleaned up the other end, Markram produced some beautiful shots to find the fence.
His game-changing knock included 17 boundaries and two maximums which kept some pressure on the Indian pacers. Markram completed his ton with a beautifully struck boundary in his 99th delivery of his innings. The entire South African team stood up and applauded the batter for producing a knock which comes once in a blue moon.
Elgar was pumped as he clapped with joy as Markarm looked up to heaven before removing his helmet raising his hands and celebrating arguably the knock of his lifetime.
Bumrah on the other hand took the onus from the Siraj and took the advantage of uneven bounce on offer. He cleared up the middle order as well as the tail end to put India in complete control.
Brief Scores: South Africa: 55 and176 (Aiden Markram 106; Jasprit Bumrah 6-61) vs India 153 (Virat Kohli 46, Rohit Sharma 39, Nandre Burger 3/42) by 36 runs.
—ANI
