RAIPUR, India (AP) — Aiden Markram’s hundred upstaged Virat Kohli’s 53rd ODI century as South Africa beat India by four wickets in the second game to level the three-match series Wednesday.
The dewy conditions also favored the Proteas in their strong chase of 362-6 after India lost its 20th consecutive toss in ODIs and made 358-5.
Markram — dropped on 53 — made 110 off 98 balls with 10 fours and four sixes and laid the platform with better than a run-a-ball second-wicket stand with Temba Bavuma (46), who returned to lead the Proteas after missing out his team’s 17-run loss at Ranchi last Sunday.
“Happy to have crossed the line,” Bavuma said. “Unbelievable game … and it showed how tough it is to play against this Indian side. A lot of confidence we can take from this (game) and set up an enthralling series.”
Matthew Breetzke (68) hit his second straight ODI half-century and Dewald Brevis (54) exhibited his power-hitting by smashing five sixes in his maiden ODI half-century.
South Africa lost wickets in clusters in the death overs and Tony de Zorzi had to retire hurt due to a hamstring injury, but Corbin Bosch eased the Proteas to its third highest-ever successful chase in ODIs with unbeaten 29 off 15 balls.
Despite losing Quinton de Kock (8) early in the batting power play, Markram and Bavuma scored at a healthy pace once they saw off the new ball.
Yashasvi Jaiswal misjudged Markram’s catch at long-on soon after the opening batter completed his half-century as the ball burst through his hands.
Markram exhibited his range of shots as the wet ball started to skid off the surface and the bowlers found it tough to find the right lengths. Bavuma pulled Prasidh Krishna (2-85) for a six over fine leg but fell in the same over when he tried to pull another short ball and sliced an easy catch.
Breetzke upped the ante with another brisk 70-run stand as Markram completed his century off 88 balls, but fell soon afterward when he couldn’t clear Harshit Rana’s (1-70) slower ball and holed out at long-on.
Brevis played in his usual brisk style as wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav (1-78) also found it tough to control the wet ball. Yadav had the consolation wicket of Brevis when he had him dismissed in the 41st over and Breetzke was out lbw to Krishna’s full pitched delivery.
With South Africa needing 31 off 31 balls, de Zorzi pulled up his right hamstring but Bosch and Keshav Maharaj saw their team home with four balls to spare.
Earlier, Kohli followed his century in Ranchi with 102 off 93 balls as the Indian batting great showed plenty of fitness at the age of 37 by running 45 singles, hitting seven fours and two sixes.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (105 off 83) capitalized on his chance in ODIs after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the series due to injury and made his maiden hundred that featured a dozen boundaries and two sixes.
Kohli and Gaikwad shared a 195-run stand off 156 balls after India lost both opening batters Rohit Sharma (14) and Jaiswal (22) inside the batting power play.
The pair exhibited lot of aggression against the left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj (0-70). South Africa also had to make up for the loss of fast bowler Nandre Burger (1-43), who walked off after picking up a hamstring injury in his seventh over.
But South Africa recovered well by dismissing both the set batters before the death overs. Marco Jansen (2-63) broke the threatening stand when Gaikwad misread the left-armer’s off-cutter and got caught at deep fine leg. Lungi Ngidi (1-51) was erratic in his opening spell but came back well to have Kohli holed out at long-on.
Captain Lokesh Rahul (66 not out) smashed two sixes and six fours and helped India breach the 350-run mark when Bosch’s last over went for 18 runs, while Ravindra Jadeja made an unbeaten 24 off 27 balls.
The series concludes Saturday before both teams compete in a five-match T20 series as part of their buildup for next year’s T20 World Cup.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
South Africa's Matthew Breetzke plays a shot during the first One Day International match between India and South Africa in Ranchi, India, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
India's Virat Kohli plays a shot during the first One Day International match between India and South Africa in Ranchi, India, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was set to address the nation Wednesday night and offer an update on the war in Iran, his first prime-time speech since launching strikes alongside Israel more than a month ago.
The speech will offer Trump a wide audience to articulate clear objectives for the war that could attempt to reconcile weeks of changing goals and often contradictory messages about whether he’s winding down or ready to escalate military operations — even as Iran kept up its attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf neighbors and airstrikes pounded Tehran.
It comes amid rising oil prices, volatile financial markets and polling showing many Americans feel the U.S. military has gone too far in Iran — even as more American troops move into the region for a possible ground offensive. Trump opted not to deliver such an address closer to when the U.S. and Israel first launched attacks, and questions now remain about whether it is now too late for what he says to break through.
A White House official, who was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the address and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the president will talk about U.S. progress on achieving his goals in Iran and will reiterate his estimated timeline for concluding operations within two to three weeks.
The president, in comments during a Easter lunch on Wednesday afternoon, said of Iran: “We could just take their oil. But you know, I’m not sure that the people in our country have the patience to do that, which is unfortunate.”
“Yeah, they want to see it end. If we stayed there, I prefer just to take the oil,” Trump said. “We could do it so easily. I would prefer that. But people in the country sort of say: ‘Just win. You’re winning so big. Just win. Come home.’ And I’m OK with that, too, because we have a lot of oil between Venezuela and our oil.”
The media was not permitted to watch the president’s remarks at the lunch, but the White House uploaded video of the speech online before taking it down. The White House did not return requests for comment from The Associated Press on the video and why it was taken down.
In a social media post earlier Wednesday, Trump maintained a belligerent tone, demanding that Iran stop blocking the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway vital to global oil supplies — or the U.S. would bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages.” The president has also said the U.S. “will not have anything to do with” ensuring the security of ships passing through Hormuz, an apparent backtrack from a previous threat to attack Iran’s power grid if it didn’t open the strait by April 6.
In the same Easter lunch, the president reiterated some of his complaints about NATO allies for their reluctance to get involved in securing the Strait of Hormuz while suggesting that China, Japan and South Korea could also step up to reopen the waterway.
“Let South Korea, you know, we only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force -- let South Korea do it,” Trump said of efforts to reopen the strait. “Let Japan do it. They get 90% of their oil from the strait. Let China do it.”
In another morning social media post, Trump wrote that “Iran’s New Regime President” wanted a ceasefire. It wasn’t clear to whom the U.S. president was referring since Iran still has the same president. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.
Speaking earlier to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting. “You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”
Hours before Trump’s address, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted a lengthy letter in English on his X account appealing to U.S. citizens and stressing that his country had pursued negotiations before the U.S. withdrew from that path. “Exactly which of the American people’s interests are truly being served by this war?” he wrote.
Since the war began on Feb. 28, Trump has offered shifting objectives and repeatedly has said it could be over soon while also threatening to widen the conflict. Thousands of additional U.S. troops are currently heading to the Middle East, and speculation abounds about why.
Trump has also threatened to attack Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. And the U.S. could decide to send in military forces to secure Iran’s uranium stockpile — a complex and risky operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, experts and former government officials say.
Adding to the confusion is what role Israel — which has been bombing Iran alongside the U.S. — might play in any of these scenarios.
Trump has been under growing pressure to end the war that has been pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other goods. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, is up more than 40% since the start of the war.
The U.S. has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at bringing about a ceasefire, including a demand for the strait to be reopened and for its nuclear program to be rolled back.
Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. And in a report last week by Iranian state TV's English-language broadcaster, an anonymous official was quoted as saying Iran had its own demands to end the fighting, including retaining sovereignty over the strait.
In the interview with Al Jazeera, Araghchi acknowledged receiving direct messages from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. He insisted, however, that there were no direct negotiations and said Iran has no faith that talks with the U.S. could yield any results, saying “the trust level is at zero.”
He warned against any U.S. attempt to launch a ground offensive, saying “we are waiting for them.”
In a deal ostensibly to give diplomacy a chance, U.S. officials have given “clear assurances” that Araghchi and Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf won't be targeted, according to three officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami, Farnoush Amiri in New York and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
A rainbow forms over the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A young girl is comforted by her father and Israeli soldiers as they take cover in a bomb shelter during air raid sirens warning of incoming Iranian missile strikes in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
People inspect the site of an Israeli strike amid debris and damaged vehicles in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man feeds stray cats in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The Indian flagged LPG carrier Jag Vasant transporting liquefied petroleum gas, is seen at the Mumbai Port in Mumbai, India, after it arrived clearing the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Firefighters and rescue workers work at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A firefighter extinguishes a car at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Israel's rescue teams and residents take shelter as sirens sounds next to a site struck by an Iranian missile in Bnei Brak, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A police vehicle is seen through a shattered windshield at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Two men ride scooters past charred debris at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
