Aiden Markram draws 'extra motivation' from past World Cup record ahead of Bangladesh game
The Proteas are scheduled to compete against Bangladesh at Wankhede Stadium tomorrow
South Africa's stand-incaptain, Aiden Markram, remarked that the team is concentrating on 'extra motivation' when facing Bangladesh due to their historical performance in ODI World Cups.
The Proteas are scheduled to compete against Bangladesh at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, October 24.
Addressing the pre-match press conference, Markram expressed that the upcoming game against Bangladesh holds significant importance for them, primarily due to their past encounters with Bangladesh in ODI World Cups. South Africa has secured victory in two matches and suffered defeat in two matches against Bangladesh in ODI World Cups.
“Whenever you play Bangladesh, it's obviously a massive game for us. We haven't done particularly well against them in the past, so that's extra motivation for us to come out and replicate what was a good performance against England, but more from an intensity level and a standards level,” said Markram.
He proceeded to mention that any team can defeat any team in the World Cup, adding that they will attempt to reproduce their performance against England in Mumbai. South Africa thoroughly defeated the reigning champions England by 229 runs in Mumbai.
“I think we've all seen in this World Cup now that any team can beat any team on a given day and if you don't respect that fact, I think the game of cricket can really hurt you. So, tomorrow is an opportunity for us to take a bit of confidence that we took from England, but ultimately to try to replicate it. It's never a guaranteed result at the end of it but it certainly aids us as a team to hopefully perform well,” Markram added.
Discussing skipper Temba Bavuma's injury, Markram mentioned that his condition is improving, but a final decision will be made before the match. Bavuma was absent from South Africa's victory over England due to an illness.
“Temba is definitely improving. There hasn't been a final call just yet on him. I think they're going to make the call tomorrow. But he is at least in better spirits,” said Markram.
South Africa will be seeking to achieve their fourth victory in the 2023 World Cup, while Bangladesh will be hoping to recover after their defeat against India.
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