Ahead of the second Test in Centurion between India and South Africa, a lot is being said about how the pitch here will be similar to that in Newlands. But South African opener Aiden Markram reckons that the track is good for the batsmen, despite its pace and bounce.

Talking about the pitch, Markram said, “Generally, it’s a good batting wicket here although I am not sure how they have prepared it this time. But there have been a lot of high scores here. I would like to think it will be a good wicket. I am pretty sure it will be similar to last week (Cape Town), maybe not as extreme.”

He further added, “It is incredibly exciting to play here because it is a place where I grew up watching and playing cricket. It’s a wicket where if you set yourself up as a batsman there are runs to be had. But as a bowler, with the pace and bounce, you always have a shout as well. It’s going to be an exciting match.”

Markram will be playing just fifth Test of his career and in this short period, he has shown some signs of being a world-class player. Talking about the same, he said, “It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster the last couple of years but an enjoyable one. I learnt a lot about my game and myself, which is important. I am fortunate to rub shoulders with legends of the game at a young age, which does help. Most importantly I have kept learning, which is great.”

In the first Test, the opener found it tough as he only managed to score 5 and 34 runs in the two innings. He said, “We got an insight into how the pitches are going to be in this series. It’s about forming a game plan according to that. We have had a couple of days off now to think about that. That’s the direction we want to go in, to feel that as batters it’s not that we can’t score runs here. And look to score, according to how the wicket is going to play.”

When asked about the inclusion of Lungi Ngidi, Aiden said, “I am incredibly happy for Lungi. We have played for quite a few years both with and against each other. I am happy to see him getting a chance and he really does deserve it. He puts in a lot of hard work behind the scenes and he has the perfect mindset for an up-and-coming player. It filters onto the rest of us.”