South Africa vice-captain Aiden Markram was in sensational form 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 particular delight in targeting debutant pacer Sonny Baker, sending him repeatedly to the boundary. South Africa’s commanding performance led them to a seven-wicket win, giving them a 1-0 lead in the series. Chasing 132, South Africa reached the 50-run mark in just six overs, recording one of their fastest fifties in ODI history. Markram also set a new record for the fastest fifty by a South African against England, surpassing Chris Morris, who had reached the milestone off 30 balls in 2016 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. Markram made his intentions clear from the first over, hitting three boundaries off Baker. In the second over, he followed up with two sixes and a four, leaving England on the back foot. He reached his fifty on the last ball of the seventh over, providing South Africa with a strong platform. Markram combined with Ryan Rickelton to register South Africa’s first 100-plus opening stand against England in ODIs since Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock put together 239 runs at Centurion in 2016. Markram eventually fell for 86 from 55 balls off Adil Rashid. South Africa comfortably reached the target with 187 balls to spare, as Rickelton and Dewald Brevis remained unbeaten on 31 and 6 runs respectively. Rashid took all three wickets for England.
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Earlier, South Africa’s bowlers produced a clinical performance after opting to field. England were bowled out for just 131 in 25 overs. Keshav Maharaj claimed four wickets, Wiaan Mulder took three, while Nandre Burger and Lungi Ngidi picked up one each. Jamie Smith top-scored for England with 54 off 48 balls. This total was England’s fourth-lowest against South Africa in ODIs and their second-lowest at Headingley. Six England batters were dismissed for single-digit scores, highlighting a complete collapse against a confident South African team that arrived in the UK on the back of a 2-1 series win over Australia.
