Proteas focused on 'extra motivation' in 'massive game' against Bangladesh due to past World Cup record
"They're a fantastic team. If you don't rock up on the day and if your skills let you down on the day against a team like Bangladesh you will be put under a lot of pressure. So that's probably where we've got it wrong in the past. Naturally, they bring a great attack that is well-rounded now. You can't just say they're going to bring fantastic spinners because their seamers have done a great job in the recent past. So, they're a fantastic team," said Markram.
Given Bangladesh's history against South Africa in ODI World Cups, the team is focusing on "extra motivation," according to South Africa's stand-in skipper Aiden Markram. South Africa will play Bangladesh on Tuesday, October 24 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Markram stated at the pre-match conference that their one-on-one encounter with Bangladesh in the ODI World Cups provides them with additional motivation for what is sure to be a 'massive' contest. South Africa have won two and lost two matches in the ODI World Cup against Bangladesh.
"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.
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"They're a fantastic team. If you don't rock up on the day and if your skills let you down on the day against a team like Bangladesh you will be put under a lot of pressure. So that's probably where we've got it wrong in the past. Naturally, they bring a great attack that is well-rounded now. You can't just say they're going to bring fantastic spinners because their seamers have done a great job in the recent past. So, they're a fantastic team," he added.
He went on to say that any team can beat any team in the World Cup, adding that they will try to replicate their performance against England in Mumbai. South Africa hammered defending 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.
Markram said South Africa have game plans for the whole team of Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan's absence or presence will not matter much in that.
"Whether he plays or not, we've addressed game plans and things like that that we as a team can try to implement tomorrow. But whether he plays or not, we don't have too much of a role in that."
South Africa will be looking to register their fourth win of the 2023 World Cup, while Bangladesh will be aiming to bounce back after their loss against India.
