IPL 2022: Top 3 Aiden Markram knocks in the competition

With IPL 2022 set to enter its last week of league matches, the race for the playoffs is about to get tougher. Match 61 is set to take place tonight between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MCA International Stadium in Pune.

Both teams have five wins so far this season, with KKR playing one match more than SRH. When both these teams faced each other earlier in the season, SRH won the game by seven wickets.

KKR's top order has let them down throughout but their middle order consisting of Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh and Andre Russell have helped significantly in batting. Tim Southee, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have been the top bowlers for the Knight Riders this season.

Although SRH made a great start to their campaign, they have lost four games in a row and need to make a comeback if they want to make the playoffs. Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi and Nicholas Pooran have impressed this season but another middle-order batter who has helped the cause would be Aiden Markram.

The South African has scored 326 runs in 11 games at an average of 65.2 this season. Moreover, his strike rate of 143 is the highest of all the players with 300+ runs in IPL 2022.

On that note, let's take a look at Markram's three best batting performances in the competition's history.

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#1 57* (41) - SRH vs RR

New Zealand v South Africa - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

In the first match of SRH this season, Markram proved his worth with the bat. SRH won the toss and put the Royals in to bat first. While the openers were dismissed under 60 runs, RR skipper Sanju Samson and Devdutt Padikkal's partnership steered them towards a good total.

Padikkal fell later but Shimron Hetmyer's power-hitting at the death helped the Royals reach 210/6. With a huge target in sight, SRH openers Kane Williamson and Abhishek Sharma were dismissed for less than seven runs.

The Hyderabad batters were failing miserably when Markram stepped in with the intention of staying till the end. He scored an unbeaten 57 off 41 balls, including five fours and two sixes.

Though Markram held his ground till the end, SRH couldn't cross the line and fell short of the target by 61 runs. But Markram's innings proved he could be relied on in any situation.

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#2 68* (38) - SRH vs KKR

New Zealand v South Africa - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

The last time these two teams met, Markram scored his career-best score in the IPL. SRH won the toss and elected to field yet again at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai

Although the KKR openers were dismissed early, Nitish Rana's half-century and Andre Russell's unbeaten 49 off 25, helped KKR post a target of 176.

In response, both SRH openers Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson failed to get off to good starts and were sent back in under 40 runs. However, Aiden Markram, alongside Rahul Tripathi, assessed the situation and built a partnership of 94 runs.

Markram scored an unbeaten 68 off 36 deliveries in a knock laced with six boundaries and four maximums. SRH would go on to win the game with seven wickets and 13 balls to spare.

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#3 56 (40) - SRH vs GT

South Africa v Bangladesh - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

In the 40th match of IPL 2022, Markram's innings helped SRH put up a defendable total against the Gujarat Titans. Batting first, SRH got off to a good start through Abhishek Sharma. However, the batters at the other end failed to hold their ground.

When Aiden Markram walked in, he knew his side needed a good partnership to get to a decent total and built a 96-run stand with Abhishek Sharma. The South African scored 56 off 40 balls, including two fours and three sixes.

SRH registered a total of 195 but the Hyderabad bowlers failed to build on the work of their batters. With Wriddhiman Saha's half-century, Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan's pinch-hitting at the death, Gujarat chased down the target with five wickets to spare.