World Cup 2023: South Africa motivated by poor record against Bangladesh, says Aiden Markram

South Africa’s stand-in captain Aiden Markram has said his team is motivated by its poor record against Bangladesh. The Proteas will take on the Tigers at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Tuesday and Markram said they will try to continue their winning impetus.

The Rainbow Nation hammered the defending champions England by a gargantuan margin of 229 runs in the previous game and will aim to keep up the good show at the same venue.

Meanwhile, South Africa has won two and lost two matches against Bangladesh in ODI World Cups. However, the Proteas hold an 18-6 head-to-head record against Bangladesh in ODI cricket.

“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 in the pre-match press conference.

Markram doesn’t want his team to be complacent as they have already been stunned by the Netherlands. The flamboyant batter admitted any team can beat any team on a given day.

“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.

The right-hander also provided an update on skipper Temba Bavuma, who missed the previous match against England due to 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 have won three out of their four matches in the ongoing showpiece.