Aiden Markram stood tall and cracked Matt Henry through the covers off the second ball of South Africa's chase against New Zealand in Ahmedabad a week ago. Then he lunged forward and did it again. From the other end, he smashed Lockie Ferguson over extra cover for six. He had 21 runs from the first eight balls he faced and would go on to finish on 86* off 44, equalling his career-best from two-and-half-weeks ago.
This is not the Markram we thought we knew.
This is a version who has managed to keep the same technique that saw his cover drive dubbed the best in the game and and upgraded himself to the power of four or six, so to speak. Markram is playing more aggressively than he has ever played and it's part of a deliberate strategy to make sure he walks his talk, both as South Africa's captain and in his new(ish) role as an opening batter.
"You can't preach to the boys and not do it yourself," Markram said after the New Zealand game. "We've seen the way T20 cricket is moving and we're lucky to get really good wickets in this competition so far. If those two things marry, you do need to take it up front."
Sounds simple enough but the application required is different from what Markram is used to, especially as T20 cricket has evolved over the last few years. Markram had two matches as an opener in 2019, four in 2021 and one in 2024 and spent the bulk of his T20I career at No. 3 or 4. Though he had most of his success at No. 4, he was permanently moved to the top of the order under Shukri Conrad in August last year. The idea was that Markram's more traditional technique would benefit from more time at the crease and that South Africa want to use their power hitters - Dewald Brevis, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs later on. But with a highest score of 41 from six matches between August and December, there were questions over whether Markram was being deployed where he is most comfortable and then something happened.
Maybe it was at the SA20, where Markram opened the batting for Durban's Super Giants, when they were all but out of the tournament, and scored a 58-ball 108 that sparked something but it stayed lit. In his next innings, Markram hit 86* off 47 balls against West Indies as South Africa chased 176 in Paarl. He carried that form into this tournament and feels as though he has finally cracked the code for how to operate as an opener in this format.
"Maybe just clarity. I think that's it," Quinton de Kock, his opening partner said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday. "Clarity in his role. Before he never used to open, he was batting at No. 3, 4 or 5 and had to come in different situations all the time so you always have to adapt. As an opening batter, it's pretty much one sort of thing you can do, so I think it's also easier for him to deal with."
It's working. Markram had already scored more runs in three innings at this tournament than in nine at the previous tournament, and his strike rate is 187.36. So far this year, his strike rate of 177.84 is the highest of his career. Not only has he unlocked the key to opening in T20s but he has found his own way of doing it, which has not come at the cost of his class but has seen an improvement in how quickly he scores.
"It's about finding out how you do it yourself as an individual and slowly but surely I feel like I'm starting to understand that," Markram said. "I don't think I'll be a proper slogger. I need to do it a bit differently to other guys, but with the intent to still get the team off to a flier."
Leading by example is something all captains aspire to do, and now that Markram has got it right with the bat, he may find he has to do it with the ball too. Amid all the talk of India's problems against offspin and their left-hand heavy batting line-up, Markram has emerged as a serious bowling threat, despite his two overs in the tournament so far costing 29 and the lack of turn in Ahmedabad. On a black soil pitch on Sunday, that may change and it's "always going to be harder for a left-handed batsman to struggle a bit against a right-arm offie if it's spinning," as de Kock put it, so South Africa are making sure they are prepared.
On Friday, Markram was one of a handful of South Africans at optional training in Ahmedabad and he spent most of his time bowling at specialist consultant Albie Morkel. He was back again on Saturday, in the bowler's net, alongside Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Corbin Bosch. If the opportunity presents itself, Markram will take charge in the same way he always does which, even though his batting style has changed, has remained the same as de Kock always remembers it.
"Aiden's Aiden. It's just about consistency for him."