Aiden Markram is not the most expressive person on a cricket field at the best of times. He likes to keep it even. Rassie van der Dussen is not too different. On Saturday in Delhi, though, the duo and Quinton de Kock let their emotion pour out when they celebrated their hundreds. That show of emotion didn't escape those watching, and for Markram it was not all about having just pulled off the quickest century in World Cups.
"Yeah, it's quite strange because you almost get this thing that just takes over your body at certain moments," Markram said when asked about the unusual reactions on show. "I think there's a lot of passion in this team to give our absolute all at this World Cup and see how far it can get us. We're known to start pretty slowly, be it in a series or maybe world events and things like that, so we put a lot of emphasis on today's game; to start well and play the same cricket we've been playing that's managed to sneak us into this competition.
"So I think it's all of those emotions sort of mixed up and building up. That sort of just comes out and a lot of pride naturally for the three of us as well. When it's your day, try to cash in and really make it count. So a mixture of quite a lot of things I would say."
For a while later in the night, Kusal Mendis threatened to make Markram's the shortest-held record for the fastest century in World Cups as he blitzed his way to 76 off 42. That is why Markram is not getting ahead of himself and treating this as some sort of warning bugle for the rest of the field.
"I'm actually not too sure," Markram said when asked if they had sent a message to the others. "The way batters are playing nowadays, you wouldn't be surprised if that record is broken in this competition as well. So it's nice for us to be able to go through the gears as a unit."
This must be a cherry on top of what has been a satisfying year for him. He has now scored 683 runs at 68.3 at a strike rate of 127.4 in 2023, but what will be most satisfying for him is that he has had to reinvent himself after his promise at the top of the order didn't quite translate into big runs in international cricket. He has now reinvented himself as arguably the best middle-overs power-hitter in white-ball cricket in the world.
"Yeah, I think you do try to evolve as a batter and it's weird when you bump your head a few times, maybe exploring options that are not your plan A and are not necessarily your strengths," Markram said of the transformation. "But you try to explore them in the nets, sometimes get confidence from it, try to bring it out in the game and it doesn't work out and you go back home and you think: 'Why am I doing that instead of sticking to my strengths?'
"But ultimately, that's what it's about. You have options as a batter, and each batter's options will be quite different. But it's about really committing to those options and backing them. And if it comes off, it's fantastic. But if it doesn't come off, at least you can sleep a bit better at night knowing you stuck to your strengths and to your options."
One potential drawback for South Africa was that de Kock didn't take the field at all during the run chase, seemingly due to cramps after batting in the hot and humid Delhi afternoon. Heinrich Klaasen took the gloves in his absence. But captain Temba Bavuma was certain there was nothing to worry as such. "I think he'll be fine," he said at the post-match presentation. "He obviously didn't take the field today. [But] I think Quinton will be fine."