At SuperSport Park, Centurion It may have been a red-letter day for the returning Aiden Markram, but it was the West Indies who bedded in at the end of day one as the far happier side against South Africa on Tuesday. After going through the gears for the better part of the day through Markram's sixth Test ton, the West Indies fought back to ensure South Africa finished the day on 314/8. On the scale of probabilities, it was a failed day for a reconstructed South African Test side that saw two debutants in Gerald Coetzee and Tony de Zorzi, while Senuran Muthusamy played his first Test in more than two years. In slipping from 221/1 to their eventual total, the Proteas wasted a glorious start on a pitch that didn't offer too many demons outside of variable bounce here and there. Markram's first hundred in Tests since his 108 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in February 2021 - and the first by a South African batter since Sarel Erwee and Kyle Verryenne doubled up against New Zealand in Christchurch last year - could have and should have been the platform for a bigger total, especially after Temba Bavuma won his first Test toss under bright sunshine and chose to bat first. The West Indian bowlers didn't always string together the necessary bursts of pressure overs to check the run rate, but they sensed there was a gap after De Zorzi (28) was foolishly run out when he chanced for a third run off Tagenarine Chanderpaul's arm. It was the foot in the door the visitors needed, from where the spirited and unyielding Alzarri Joseph (3/60) then accounted for Temba Bavuma (0) with a searing in-swinger two balls later that trapped the new Proteas Test captain leg-before. Nearly four overs later, he speared a yorker through Markram's until-then resolute defence after two bouncers to leave the Proteas precariously placed at 236/4. The position was indeed a tricky one for the hosts in that they had the returnee Test batters in Keegan Petersen (14) and Heinrich Klaasen (20) to fend off the resurgent West Indian attack. Klaasen, whose attacking instincts saw him favoured over Verreynne, looked untroubled in his 22-ball knock. However, he gifted his wicket away when he pulled a meaningless short ball to Joseph at mid-wicket off Shannon Gabriel (1/49) to leave SA at 262/5. Muthusamy (3) looked compact in defence, but when he inexplicably shouldered arms to Kemar Roach (1/65), SA had sunk to 271/6. The gifting of the wickets ironically mirrored how Dean Elgar (71), who made his first Test 50 in 12 innings, gave away his scalp. Elgar, who saw off early tricky spells from Roach and Joseph to score unnaturally quickly, somehow picked out Jermaine Blackwood at fine third man two balls after he was moved there for the ramp shot Elgar had been playing with some success. It wasn't the smartest of cricket from the former Test captain as he'd ramped a Joseph bouncer in that direction for four before Blackwood was moved to the position. It was also atonement for Blackwood, who had dropped Elgar on 10 at third slip off Kyle Mayers' (1/23) bowling. Elgar's dismissal ended a 141-run opening partnership, SA's first 50-plus opening stand since the Oval Test against England last year. But where the other batters failed to convert their starts, Markram made the most of his third coming in the Test team to score his sixth Test 100. It was a typical Markram knock that was studded with delightful front and backfoot drives, along with a cross-batted shot here and there to remind the sparsely-attended ground, where he plays his first-class cricket, that he's more than adequate in dealing with the short ball. He still had his issues outside off-stump, but the West Indian bowlers didn't target the channel with the necessary consistency to keep the slip cordon in business. Markram was the dominant partner in his stand with Elgar and the 78-run alliance with De Zorzi before being dismissed while batting with Petersen. The key part with Markram was that his ton, while judicious, also carried the hallmarks of the game wanted by the Proteas' new red-ball coach, Shukri Conrad. He was assertive and at times, bordered on dominating as more than half of his runs came in boundaries. There was none of the fidgetiness outside off-stump that punctuated his 15-innings rut where he made 11 scores of 16 and below, which necessitated his dropping after the second Test against England at Old Trafford. What Markram's knock did do was allow South Africa to score at more than three an over, even when the visitors pulled the game back in the evening session. Not even the late losses of Petersen, who was trapped in front by Mayers, and Kagiso Rabada, who was pouched by Blackwood at slip off Jason Holder (1/64), slowed the scoring down. A brief flurry by Coetzee (11*) and Marco Jansen (17*) ensured SA crossed 300, but the loss of 7/93 from De Zorzi's fall meant SA frittered away a position of real dominance. Scores in brief South Africa: 314/8 (Aiden Markram 115, Dean Elgar 71, Tony de Zorzi 28, Heinrich Klaasen 20, Alzarri Joseph 3/60, Kyle Mayers 1/23, Shannon Gabriel 1/49, Jason Holder 1/64).