"He reminds us a little of Jacques Kallis" - Aakash Chopra lauds Aiden Markram's century on Day 3 of 2025 WTC final
Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Aiden Markram for scoring a century in the fourth innings of the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final. While praising Markram's technique, he noted that the opener reminded one of former South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis.
Australia set South Africa a 282-run target on Day 3 of the WTC final at Lord's on Friday, June 13. Markram was unbeaten on a 159-ball 102 as the Proteas ended the day at 213/2, needing 69 runs to bag their first ICC trophy since lifting the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener praised Markram for setting a plethora of records and compared his technique to Kallis.
"He is the only South African batter to score a hundred in an ICC men's final. He became the third centurion in WTC final history. He is the first to score a hundred in the fourth innings," Chopra said (2:35).
"Let me put my hand up. I had said that the decision to bowl first after winning the toss wasn't a good one because there would be fourth-innings pressure. 282 runs are a lot, but he dwarfed that total. His technical foundation is excellent. He reminds us a little of Jacques Kallis," he added.
Aiden Markram has struck 11 fours during his unbeaten 102-run knock. He and Temba Bavuma (65* off 121) have stitched together an unbroken 143-run third-wicket partnership after South Africa were reduced to 70/2.
"He had to unlearn his T20 habits" - Aakash Chopra on the challenges for Aiden Markram on Day 3 of 2025 WTC final
![Aiden Markram played for the Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025. [P/C: Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/06/db468-17498770285335-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same video, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Aiden Markram needed to change his game, considering he was playing T20 cricket for the last two months.
"What would have been the difficulties for Aiden Markram? One, he was playing only T20 cricket for the last two months. So he had to unlearn his T20 habits and then focus on Test cricket. That's a difficult job," he said (3:10).
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the right-handed opener had also been dismissed for a duck in the first innings and had to negate the new ball's threat.
"Secondly, he got out for zero in the first innings. That was also a problem. Wickets have fallen here with the new ball. If you see the first three innings, wickets had fallen with the new ball in every inning. He ensured that he came with a positive mindset," Chopra observed.
To conclude, Aakash Chopra noted that Aiden Markram's century will be remembered for a long time. He added that the South African opener's name will be written in golden letters in the pages of history.