Men’s ODI WC: ‘Wouldn’t be surprised if that record is broken’, says Aiden Markram after slamming fastest ton

New Delhi: South African batter Aiden Markram believes that his current record of fastest hundred could be surpassed during the remaining matches of the 2023 World Cup, considering the aggressive style of play exhibited by batters nowadays.

Markram slammed the fastest century in Men’s Cricket World Cup history, as the 29-year-old South African brought up his hundred off just 49 deliveries. His rapid ton beat the previous record for the fastest CWC century, held by Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien against England in 2011, by one delivery.

However, Markram departed the crease for 106 from 54 after a blistering innings that featured three sixes and 14 fours, with a strike rate of 196.

Speaking at a post-match presser, the Proteas batter said that he wouldn’t be astonished if his record is surpassed during this tournament.

“I am not sure, the way batters are playing nowadays, you wouldn’t be surprised if that record is broken in this competition as well. So it’s nice for us to be able to go through the gears as a unit,” Markram was quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

The middle-order batter further said that he has undergone significant development in his batting skills over the past few years.

“Yeah, I think you do try to evolve as a batter and it’s weird when you bump your head a few times, maybe exploring options that are not your plan A and are not necessarily your strengths.” said Markram.

“But you try to explore them in the nets, sometimes get confidence from it, try to bring it out in the game and it doesn’t work out and you go back home and you think: ‘Why am I doing that instead of sticking to my strengths?’

“But ultimately, that’s what it’s about. You have options as a batter, and each batter’s options will be quite different. But it’s about really committing to those options and backing them. And if it comes off, it’s fantastic. But if it doesn’t come off, at least you can sleep a bit better at night knowing you stuck to your strengths and to your options,” he added.

Courtesy of Markram’s fastest ton, South Africa put Sri Lanka to the sword in Delhi run-fest on Saturday, scoring an enormous total of 428/5 to set a new record for the highest-ever total at a Men’s World Cup, bettering the previous best of 417/6 by Australia against Afghanistan in Perth in 2015.

Sri Lanka’s spirited chase of such a mammoth total saw them eventually bowled out for 326 after 44.5 overs, making this the highest-scoring game ever seen at a Cricket World Cup.

–IANS