Seamer Vernon Philander and spinner Keshav Maharaj shared five wickets, as the Proteas’ three-day fixture against the Indian Board President’s XI ended in a draw at the Dr PVG Raju ACA Sports Complex in Vizianagaram on Saturday.

Rain and bad light marred the match throughout, allowing for a mere 128 overs in total. Responding to the tourists’ 279-6 declared, the hosts moved to 265-8.

Maharaj’s 3/35 included the dismissal of Test opener Mayank Agarwal, while Philander’s 2/27 was showcased by the removal of the dangerous Rohit Sharma for a duck.

South Africa’s first-innings total had been built on the back of a fine century from Aiden Markram, whose 100 spanned 118 deliveries – and featured 18 fours and two sixes. He enjoyed good support from Test vice-captain Temba Bavuma, who collected 87 not out during a 180-minute stay.

‘It was nice to get a few runs but, like I mentioned, by no means will the wickets play in the same way as they did in the A-side matches,’ said Markram.

This match was the tourists’ final match preparation ahead of next week’s first Test against India, which will be played at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

‘The preparation for the Test series is going to be massive and every little bit going into the series will help,’ added Markram.

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