HAVING started the year on a high with a century on a tough Newlands wicket against India, Markram lost form as he had only recorded three 50s before he took to the middle on Day 1 of the ongoing Test at SuperSport Park.
Though he had many good starts with bat in hand this year, the batter struggled to convert them into big scores for the team.
On Day 2 of the first Test on Friday , the 30-year-old managed to put together a promising 89 off 144. It was an innings where he managed to keep his natural attacking instincts at bay – a trait that previously had led to his downfall on multiple occasions this year.
At stumps on Friday, Markram admitted to purposefully trying to strike a balance between attacking and leaving well, in order to spend enough time at the crease to give himself a chance to score big score for the team.
"While I was out there, it ebbed and flowed a quite bit. There were times when you felt in a bit of rhythm and moving well and then there were times when you were fighting against yourself a bit," Markram said.
"The plan was to try and leave as best as I could. It's a weird one trying to balance your attacking nature and intent to score but when the good ball was there and didn't need to be played at then I wanted to make peace with that. Half and half, still think there's room for improvement but it was still nice to spend some time there."
The 30-year-old also admitted his frustrations while he was in a lean patch this year. Moreover, the 30-year-old explained that being part of the leadership group helped him take his focus away from his individual performances and put focus on the team and the younger players in the side.
"It's more about being there for guys that need it. It's quite nice because it takes a bit of the focus off yourself and then you put that focus on other guys. Often what you say to other people can help you as well," he said.
"It was really frustrating because I feel like I've been moving well and seeing the ball nicely but finding some really interesting ways to get out. That's more the frustrating part. But it's been quite a busy year.
"There are times when you lack a little bit of mental edge because you're playing so often and you go through a bit of mental fatigue. That's where the frustration comes in.
"It would be a completely different conversation if I was feeling quite scratchy and feeling out of touch. So, I'm very fortunate that that's not the case.
"Obviously, frustrated that I haven't been scoring runs and it plays on you as a guy whose pride is on performance and who wants to contribute to winning games of cricket. A bit of a frustrating time but hopefully we can turn that around now.
"It was special. It looks pretty easy for him at this moment the whole Test cricket thing. Great to watch, a massive momentum shift for us. It's a hugely valuable knock, probably worth more than a hundred. Chuffed for him. He's come a long way."
Having scored 301 and secured a 90-run lead in the first innings, South Africa has Pakistan on 88/3 heading into the 'Moving Day'. The hosts will hope to restrict Pakistan to the smallest total possible as it is traditionally difficult batting in the fourth innings at SuperSport Park due to the deterioration of the wicket.
Markram hopes that since it has been raining up country heading into the Test, the wicket will hold together a little longer and not deteriorate as much as it usually does.
"Hopefully, it stays good. SuperSport Park will always deteriorate day by day. It hasn't been as hot as always which probably works in our favour," he said.
"We'd like to minimize whatever Pakistan gets. It's always hard work chasing here in the second innings so hopefully, we can bowl nicely tomorrow morning and for however long it needs to be and then chase it down.
"It will probably pose a different threat that wicket in the fourth innings so it's for the batters to be ready and find ways to adapt their games to score those runs."
Day 3 will get underway at 10am on Saturday.