20|04|04

Aiden Markram has been batting in the top order for Lucknow Super Giants except in his last match. In his first 5 innings for the franchise, he has had starts but has yet to capitalize on them. His best score was 45 from 27 balls against his former side, Sunrisers Hyderabad, in his second match.

In his following three innings, he scored 22 (15), 30 (21), and 12 (8). Those starts did not seem to be enough to keep Markram at the top with Mitch Marsh. Against the Punjab Kings XI, the LSG think tank decided to move Markram down the order. Marsh was joined by Ayush Badoni, with Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran taking the 3rd and 4th spots, respectively.

Markram would then come in at an unfamiliar number 5 position. The South African captain took the challenge head-on and scored 22 off 42 balls. He was dismissed with 1 ball remaining in the match. The Super Giants were chasing an absurd total of 254 but could only manage 200.

While this was not Markram's highest score for the season, this was the first time he scored more than two sixes in an innings. His strike rate was 190, which is up there with any of the best finishers.

It will be interesting to see if LSG will stick with the same strategy for Markram for their upcoming clash against the Rajasthan Royals on 22 April in Lucknow. If that is the case, that would mean Markram would have to adjust to the role on a more permanent basis for LSG, but in his other franchises and for the Proteas, he will likely open, especially with the Durban Super Giants. He found his best form and made his most useful contributions for the Durban-based franchise at the top of the order after coming in the middle order.