South Africa opener Aiden Markram got the focus back to the sport with a sparkling century on Day 1 of the fourth Test against Australia on Friday. Impressed by the 23-year-old's brilliant knock at the New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, India skipper Virat Kohli took to Twitter and lavished praised on the South African batsman. Following his knock of 152 off 216 balls, Markram made it clear that the appreciation is mutual.
"It's quite a special feeling. There are a lot of players that I look up to who are a bit older than me and he (Kohli) is one of them," Markram was quoted as saying by ICC. "His competitiveness is something to admire and his motivation to keep scoring runs is something I've tried to take on board."
And after the South African's brilliant 152-run knock on Friday, Kohli praised the batsman with emojis.
Despite struggling against India in the recent Test series in South Africa, Markram has been on a roll in the ongoing Test series against Australia. While the series has seen numerous unsavoury incidents, culminating in the recent ball-tampering scandal, Markram has gone about his business with the utmost professionalism.
The stylish right-hander has amassed 443 runs so far across the four matches with two centuries and a fifty to his name. The Indian captain had praised Markram even during the India-South Africa Test series.