Virat Kohli praises Aiden Markram’s knock vs Australia, calls him ‘treat to watch’

South African opening batsman Aiden Markram’s brilliant knock against Australia on the first day of the Johannesburg Test was delightful for two reasons. The youngster’s knock helped the cricketing world overcome the shock of the ball-tampering scandal that led to the banning of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.

Markram’s 152, which included 17 fours and a six, caught the attention of India’s cricket captain Virat Kohli and the Indian skipper lauded the 23-year-old for his knock on Twitter. Markram responded to Kohli’s appreciation after the end of the first day’s play. “It’s quite a special feeling. There are a lot of players that I look up to who are a bit older than me and he (Kohli) is one of them,” Markram said. “His competitiveness is something to admire and his motivation to keep scoring runs is something I’ve tried to take on board.” This is the second time that Kohli has appreciated Markram’s knock in the ongoing series against Australia. The right-hander’s 84 in the controversy-marred Test in Cape Town had also prompted an appreciative response from Kohli.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore captain had then tweeted: “Aiden Markram is a delight to watch!” Kohli had even acknowledged Markram’s talent in person; after Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed the young batsman for 94 in first innings of the Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion. “He came across and said ‘well played’ and ‘unlucky to get out’,” Markram had said told the media. “It was a great touch from him. He is a massive competitor as everyone sees on the TV, but it’s great to see that he’s got good values that people might not always see. It was nice, a great gesture and it did mean a lot.” The right-handed batsman has already got 443 runs to his credit in the ongoing Test series against the Aussies with two centuries and a fifty from the four Tests. The batting prodigy, who was also recently dubbed as future Proteas Test captain by former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith may not have performed at his best in the series against India but seems to have found his feet of late.