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The 1st ODI between South Africa and India has kicked off at Boland Park in Paarl and it's been a tough going for the batters so far. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Temba Bavuma's side found it extremely tough to score runs on a slow and sluggish wicket in the first half of the game. To add to the misery for the home side, India bowled brilliantly and even showed their class in the field to inflict damage.
Markram's disappointment vs India continues
The right-handed batsman has had a horrific time against India in the last few days. After managing to score only 76 runs in 3 Tests, Markram had an opportunity to play a big knock in the 1st ODI on Wednesday. He came to bat when South Africa were reeling at 58/2 in 15.1 overs and as one of the most experienced batsmen on his side, the responsibility was on him to notch up a solid partnership alongside his captain at the other end.
However, it seemed like his poor form in red-ball cricket transpired to the ODI series as he looked way short of confidence. After a slow start, he tried to get off the strike on the bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin in 18th over. He pushed the ball towards mid-off and called for a quick single.
This is when debutant Venkatesh Iyer showed extremely fast reactions to get to the ball before he produced a fantastic direct hit. Markram was comfortable a few inches short of the crease and had to make the long walk back to the pavilion.
Watch the video here:
After the loss of Makram's wicket, Rassie van der Dussen joined hands with Temba Bavuma to get his side out of trouble. At the time of writing the copy, the home side were 109/3 in 24 overs.