India captain Virat Kohli has taken a special liking to South Africa batsman Aiden Markram. Last week Kohli had praised Markram on Twitter after the opener hit 84 in the third Test against Australia in Cape Town.

And then on Friday, Kohli again took to social media to show his appreciation for the 23-year-old batsman after he hit 152 against the Aussies in Johannesburg.

While Kohli’s earlier tweet said “Aiden Markram is a delight to watch!”, his latest message was simply a couple of emojis next to Markram’s name.

Understandably, the South African is delighted to receive such praise for one of the finest batsmen of his generation.

“It’s quite a special feeling. There are a lot of players that I look up to who are a bit older than me and he (Kohli) is one of them,” Markram said. “His competitiveness is something to admire and his motivation to keep scoring runs is something I’ve tried to take on board.”

Earlier in the year, Markram had thanked Kohli for appreciating his knock of 94 against India in the Centurion Test.

“He came across and said, ‘Well played, you were unlucky to get out.’ It was a great touch from him. He is a massive competitor as everyone sees on the TV, but it’s great to see that he has got good values that people off the field might not see. It was a great gesture and it meant a lot,” Markram had said.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan, ex-India player Deep Dasgupta and commentator Harsha Bhogle also joined Kohli in applauding the South African.