Centurion, Jan 13 (PTI) South African opener AidenMarkram said they were surprised by the nature of the pitchhere after R Ashwin took 3-90 to restrict them to 269 for 6 atstumps on day one of the second Test.
"We didn't expect there to be so much assistance for him.
Ashwin was difficult to face. He is difficult to face on aflat wicket as well, so it did work out well for him Isuppose," Markram said.
"He still had to bowl well so you need to give him somecredit. It will be interesting to see if the pitch will getharder and if it will continue to spin like it did, or if itspun like that because of the grass covering. We'll see in thenext couple of days," he said after the day's play.
Markram, who missed out of a century after beingdismissed by Ashwin, heaped praise on the bowler.
"Ashwin is a world class bowler. He always asking theright questions and he sets smart fields. It is not easy outthere. I don't think he would have expected to bowl as muchtoday judging on how last week went," he said.
"They would have expected something similar. But he is aworld-class bowler and it was a good challenge to get outthere and face him," he added.
Markram, who scored 94, provided a good base for SouthAfrica to build a huge score on. However, they failed to graspthe situation later in the day.
"I thought we showed good fight, winning the toss andbatting first, especially after how last week played out. Itis nice to get the start we did get, and for Hashim Amla andAB de Villiers to prolong the partnership," he said.
"We would have liked not to have lost those clump ofwickets at the end. It is a part of the game and we just gotto be nice and positive as a side and fight for every runtomorrow morning," he said.
"The game is pretty much even right now. In terms ofbowling we have got taller bowlers and also being used to theconditions and it would be interesting to see how the Indiansbat and make an assessment."Talking about the missed hundred, Markram said,"Obviously, I am bitterly disappointed. It's the second timein a short career, but I'm just going to keep saying it's partof the game and try to be positive. Next time I get into thosesituations I'll take lessons from what I've learnt today andhopefully get through to three figures.
"Even if we were ended the day two down, I still wouldhave been disappointed. It was a bit of a nothing shot. I amnot over it just yet. My next role is to try and save runs inthe field and do what ever I can before we stuck in again.
Probably be on in a positive space," he added.
Markram also thanked Indian skipper Virat Kohli whocomplimented his knock.
"He came across and said, 'Well played, you were unluckyto get out.' It was a great touch from him. He is a massivecompetitor as everyone sees on the TV, but it's great to seethat he has got good values that people off the field mightnot see. It was a great gesture and it meant a lot."The young opener said South Africa will be looking to putup a good score with Faf du Plessis still at the crease.
"Anything above 350 would be good. We would like to pushto 400. We've still got plenty of batting. Keshav Maharaj isstill in and Kagiso Rabada showed his worth in the previousTest as well, along with the leadership of Faf," Markramsigned off. PTI ATKATK.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.