‘Good energy’ in Proteas squad, says Markram, as they target series victory

Having won the first match last week, Proteas captain Aiden Markram says his team are bracing for another tough challenge, insisting there is no room for complacency as they gear up for the second and final match of their Test series against Bangladesh starting in Chattogram on Tuesday.

At Mirpur last week, the SA side picked up a seven-wicket victory within four days, but they had to dig deep against a fighting Bangladesh team who racked up more than 300 runs in their second innings.

With an opportunity to wrap up a 2-0 series win, Markram said they were eager to go unbeaten on their tour and prevent a first ever Test match defeat to Bangladesh.

“We want to find ways to win consecutively and that’s been our drive coming into this Test match, so hopefully we can put in another good performance,” said Markram, who was set to retain the captaincy in the absence of injured regular skipper Temba Bavuma.

“We always appreciate the opposition we’re up against, especially Bangladesh in their home conditions, so we have no doubt it’s going to be a tough game for sure. But hopefully we can back it up and keep that good energy and those good vibes in the changeroom.”

Top-order struggle

In the opening match last week, the Proteas top order failed to convert their starts into big scores and they relied largely on middle-order players Kyle Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder to lay the foundation of their victory. 

Going into the second fixture, Markram said the top order batters were desperate to prove their worth and contribute more to the squad’s all-round effort.

While the bowlers were showing good form (led by Kagiso Rabada who returned match figures of 9/72 in the previous game) and the middle-order batters were hitting their straps, the skipper admitted the top order needed to show more intent in the early stages of their innings.

‘Hungry to contribute’

“Each batter in their own individual, unique way needs to back their strengths and find a way to put the Bangladesh bowlers under some pressure, which will make run scoring a little bit easier and more free-flowing,” Markram said yesterday.

“We’ll have to assess how the wicket plays as well in respect to each of our options we try to take on, but ultimately all you can do as a player is back your strengths, take those options and hope it’s your day.

“In the discussions we’ve had as a batting unit, the top six are really hungry to contribute, so hopefully we can put our best foot forward.”

The first day’s play in the second Test between SA and Bangladesh in Chattogram starts at 6am (SA time) on Tuesday morning.