Ken Borland

Winning a series against India, not just because they are a country of half-a-billion women but also because they are one of cricket’s superpowers, especially on their home turf is a magnificent effort and South African batter Lara Goodall was quite right when she called it a “statement win” after the Proteas clinched a 3-1 series triumph with a game to spare with their seven-wicket win in Lucknow on Sunday.

To clinch victory, South Africa had to mount their highest ever successful run-chase – a daunting 267 was their target – and they did it style with eight balls to spare as the top four of Lizelle Lee (69), Laura Wolvaardt (53), Goodall (59*) and Mignon du Preez (61) all scored half-centuries.

The 24-year-old Goodall, who only returned to the Proteas team this year after being in the international wilderness following South Africa’s hammering on their last visit to India in October 2019, calmly steered them home in the company of veteran Marizanne Kapp (22*).

“It’s been nice to come here and make a statement because the last time we came to India we got clobbered a bit, so we had a point to prove. We knew it would not be easy, there was a lot of uncertainty, but we wanted to show that the batting unit has that belief and it was a massive chase against a world-class team. It showed we are a lot more mature in our game, especially the batting.

“It feels very good to be there at the end with Marizanne, to get us over the line after grafting so hard. We have a world-class opening partnership that we can always rely on with Lizelle and Laura, but we haven’t always backed them up. But the entire top four scoring fifties just shows all the talent and experience that is there. The batting really came to the party today,” Goodall said.

This was no mundane triumph and no-one would blame the Proteas for celebrating into Monday, especially since the fifth and final ODI is only on Wednesday.

“We’re definitely going to enjoy this one and we owe the win to the backing of the coaches and to ourselves for what happened last time we were here and we were down and out. Personally it put me out of the international game for a while, but I worked very hard in Lockdown. Two years ago I wasn’t sure how to play spin, what my options were.

“But having been a bit half-hearted about it, I looked at myself deeply and I knew I had to improve a lot if I wanted to have a regular place in this team. I want to keep my spot in the middle-order and it just required a mental shift. I’ve always had the shots and the ability, but there was some sort of disconnect whenever I had to go out into the middle,” Goodall admitted.

Test openers Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar put together the largest partnership of the match thus far and wiped out the first-innings deficit as they took the Titans to 162 without loss at stumps on the third day of their CSA 4-Day Domestic Series match at SuperSport Park on Tuesday.

It was a great effort by Markram, who went to 90 not out, a 191-ball innings filled with lovely strokes, especially drives, and Elgar, who was on 65 not out and showed his typical determination to blunt the bowlers. Their partnership meant the Titans will go into the final day with a lead of 11 runs and all 10 wickets intact.

That after they conceded a massive first-innings deficit of 151, things heading south for them badly in the hour before lunch as the Knights were able to declare on 414 for nine.

The visitors had resumed on 307 for six and the Titans again maintained a strong grip on proceedings with the ball in the first hour.

But veteran Protea Farhaan Behardien stayed cool as he fought his way to 142, a great knock against his former side in the clash between the competition’s two pool leaders.

It took a superb one-handed, diving catch by Titans skipper Grant Thomson, at backward square-leg, to eventually dismiss Behardien off the bowling of Lizaad Williams (30-2-103-4), but Shaun von Berg then stepped up.

Having weathered an early barrage from the Titans quicks, he showed great decision-making as he stuck around through the tough times with Behardien as they added 39 for the seventh wicket in 17.4 overs, and then attacked to score 58 not out.

Alfred Mothoa scored 18 as he helped Von Berg add 58 runs for the ninth wicket.

Farhaan Behardien, now playing in the dark blue and orange of the Knights, made just his second 4-Day Domestic Series century at SuperSport Park on Monday, an inspirational effort that put the visitors into a first-innings lead against the Titans in the match-up between the two pool leaders.

Behardien, who starred for the Titans with nine centuries in 98 four-day matches before joining the Bloemfontein side this season, came through a tough morning session in which the Knights had slipped to 49 for three in the first hour. The 37-year-old showed all his experience, determination and skill as he reached stumps on 126 not out, his 233-ball effort leading the Knights to 307 for six at stumps on the second day, already a handy 44 runs in front.

Raynard van Tonder began the fightback for the Knights with his controlled 52, adding 106 for the fourth wicket with Behardien, before Patrick Kruger took control in the afternoon with an aggressive innings of 69 off 99 balls.

Kruger and Behardien added 113 for the fifth wicket and the key partnership was only broken in the third over with the second new ball when Lizaad Williams was fortunate to win an lbw decision against Kruger.

Williams was the best of the Titans bowlers, sharp and consistently asking questions of the batsmen, as he finished the day with three for 63 in 19 overs.

He will need to be as good on the third morning as he was in Monday’s first session if the size of the Knights lead is going to be kept to manageable proportions by the home side.

Aiden Markram said on Wednesday that there was no sense of disappointment in being overlooked for the Proteas Test captaincy – and the broad grin he wore when he said it was an obvious sign of relief – and instead he threw his full weight behind the leadership of Dean Elgar, saying it will carry the same hallmarks of his batting.

Markram, who lost his place in the South African side in 2019, has just regained his best form, capped by the magnificent 204 not out he scored for the Titans against the Knights in the 4-Day Domestic Series match between the pool leaders in Centurion on Wednesday. Now that he has confirmed his place in the Test side, there had been speculation that he could be appointed as the full-time successor to Quinton de Kock.

That honour, however, fell to his Titans opening partner Elgar, who scored 90 as they shared a record first-wicket stand of 213, and Markram can now focus on churning out runs as he is doing in such prolific fashion at the moment. He is now the leading run-scorer in the four-day competition with 781 at 97.62, plus he has made 336 Test runs at an average of 56 this summer.

“There is certainly no disappointment. My focus was not on the captaincy, it was all on whatever team I’m playing for and scoring runs for them. I’m over the moon for Dean, we have come quite a way together, he’s a great leader who sets really high standards and demands a lot of his team-mates. Between him and Temba Bavuma [vice-captain], I wish them all the best and look forward to their eras in charge.

“Dean’s captaincy is very similar to the way he bats: he never throws in the towel, he never gives up, he’ll fight tooth-and-nail for every inch. He expects a lot from the team and will certainly never settle for anything below-par or mediocre. The whole Titans team is over the moon for him. He adds massive value in our changeroom and that of the Proteas as well,” Markram said at SuperSport Park on Wednesday.

Markram’s wonderful summer ended a period of immense frustration for the 26-year-old as he could not build on the tremendous promise he showed in scoring a thousand runs in his first year of Test cricket.

“I was happy to spend some more time in the middle and it’s just how sport works I guess: You have your phases when you struggle and I went through a really rough 12-18 months. But that gives you extra hunger and motivation and when you get in you really want to go to town. Because you never know what’s going to happen next week …

“So I’m keeping my feet on the ground, but I feel like I have a bit more clarity at the crease now. Every batsman wants to score a double at some stage and I’ve learnt once I get in to never give it away. You have to try and get yourself out as few times as possible and I’m very relieved that the Titans were able to get out of this match with the draw,” Markram said.