Follow UsWith two wins from two games, South Africa have almost booked a place in the T20 World Cup Super Eights, and now they’re all set to face Bangladesh - another strong contender from the group - at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, on June 10, 2024 (Monday).
Winning the Bangladesh encounter will almost certainly confirm their spot at the top of the table in Group D, but South Africa will also be wary of the uneven nature of the New York surface that ran them so close against the Netherlands. Skipper Aiden Markram admitted the challenge while adding that building partnerships would be the key.
“I think you can almost sort of expect that on a surface like that and an outfield like that - 100 runs can always feel a long way away, especially when you don't get off to the start you'd like. So, it is a massive relief to get the two points but also for two batters to show us how it's done on a wicket like that and for the rest of us as a unit to hear about it and take some lessons from that,” Markram said in the pre-match press conference in New York.
“I think from a fielding point of view, you can really squeeze; you can be nice and close, so normally when you're hitting it nicely off the bat, it sort of beats the inner ring, but I feel like here it doesn't.
“Obviously, the pitch was quite slow today as well, so that makes it even tougher to get it through the ring and at least get a partnership built. That's probably the reason why it's tough. I think if you look at it from a going sideways point of view, it's probably a bit less today actually, so that was nice for us as batters to see and feel but still really challenging to score and put bowlers under pressure.”
Bangladesh pushed Sri Lanka to the limit on their way to a two-wicket win in Dallas a couple of nights ago. With the kind of unpredictability that USA surfaces have served in the T20 World Cup already, it won’t be a surprise if Bangladesh come out even stronger in South Africa.
“Yeah, that would be fantastic. Yeah, that's sort of the first box that we want to tick,” Markram said when asked if beating Bangladesh and qualifying for the next round is their first target.
“But again, you look at conditions, you look at a really strong Bangladesh team and it's going to be a proper challenge for us. So naturally looking forward to it. We've luckily had the privilege of playing two games now on the surface and at this venue.
“So hopefully, it can give us even clearer plans and we can develop plans from a batting point of view how to get to a score of maybe about 140 if we do bat first, and hopefully, then our bowlers can do the rest,” Markram added.
Ottneil Baartman picked four wickets against the Netherlands and was South Africa’s pick of the bowlers. Similarly, Anrich Nortje was the prime enforcer against Sri Lanka, with a domineering spell of 4/7 before claiming a couple of crucial wickets against Netherlands. Given that Nortje had just returned from a torrid IPL season with Delhi Capitals, this performance was a huge bonus for South Africa. Markram was all praise for the duo while emphatizing what Nortje had gone through in the last few months.
“Both of them have been fantastic. You look at Anna; maybe in the build-up to the World Cup, he would have liked to have done better and potentially come with more confidence. But we had him just before his massive injury, and he was, at that time, probably one of the best bowlers in the world.
“I don't think that changes, I think just a bit of backing and a bit of game time naturally to get that rust out. And then, naturally, a wicket where there's a bit for him to work with at least helps. Both of them have done really well.
“Ottniel is really clear, keeps things really simple, got a nice skill set and that's what they back. So, it's great to see it's worked for the two of them, not just the two of them, but probably the whole bowling attack so far. But as a changing room, it's great to have an Anrich Nortje firing and full of confidence,” Markram added.
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