‘I was fighting the tears a bit, meant quite a lot to me’ - Aiden Markram after scintillating century against West Indies

After struggling for quite some time in the longest format of the game, South Africa batter Aiden Markram finally stepped up with a brilliant century in the first Test against the West Indies. The 28-year-old scored 115 off 174 deliveries to take South Africa in the driver’s seat.

Markram revealed that he was very emotional after his century as it meant a lot to him. He also stated that the innings is more special since it came on his home turf.

“I was fighting the tears a bit. It meant quite a lot to me, it's been a strange journey, so I'm just grateful that it worked out. It's always a bit more special at SuperSport Park when you reach milestones on your home ground because you know some friends and family are present too. There was a lot of relief too. That's what it boiled down to,” Markram said as quoted by News24.

It's great when a coach backs you like that: Aiden Markram

Following his century, the Proteas batter thanked the newly-appointed coach Shukri Conrad for backing him and giving him the much-needed confidence.

“It's great when a coach backs you like that, it gives you an extra bit of confidence. You also want to do him justice for backing you like that. That's one of Shukri's biggest strengths. He's always very clear in his messaging and you'll know exactly where you stand with reasons provided. I'm grateful that he backs me,” Markram said.

Notably, South Africa posted 314 runs on board with the loss of eight wickets at the stumps on Day 1. The middle order failed to capitalise after a great start from Markram and Dean Elgar as skipper Temba Bavuma, Keegan Petersen and Heinrich Klassen returned to the pavilion rather cheaply. 

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