Rassie van der Dussen (right) celebrates his century with Aiden Markram at the weekend, in South Africa's World Cup opener which was played in front of largely empty stands. Picture: Isuru Sameera Peiris/Gallo Images
Having opened their campaign in spectacular fashion, Aiden Markram says the Proteas’ burning desire to win South Africa’s first Cricket World Cup title was evident in their crushing victory over Sri Lanka at the weekend.
Markram was one of three Proteas batters – along with Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen – who scored centuries in Delhi, in a record-breaking performance which left them lying second in the round robin standings (behind New Zealand on net run-rate) in the early stages of the tournament.
All three players were clearly delighted to reach their tons, which Markram felt was a reflection of their trophy aspirations.
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“I think there’s a lot of passion in this team to give our absolute all at this World Cup and see how far it can get us,” he said.
“We’re known to start pretty slowly, be it in a series or maybe world events and things like that, so we put a lot of emphasis on this game, to start well and play the same cricket we’ve been playing that’s managed to sneak us into this comp.
“So I think it’s all of those emotions sort of mixed up and building up. That sort of just comes out.”
While the Proteas were relying on their new hit-or-miss approach to the game, Markram felt conditions were also going to be key during the World Cup, and finding a balance was crucial.
He was therefore pleased to have an opportunity to score some runs for his team on a good batting wicket.
“I think it’s natural for most teams to speculate how conditions are going to play, especially South Africans coming over to India. You’re not always 100% sure,” he said.
“And then I think you get out there and the wicket starts playing really well, and it’s initially a big sigh of relief.
“Secondly, I think a lot of instinct does take over, with that see-ball-hit-ball sort of mentality. So marrying the two of them I suppose is quite crucial, but yeah, we’re thankful that we got a belter of a wicket in Delhi.”
The national team arrived in Lucknow yesterday, in preparation for their second match of the tournament against Australia on Thursday.
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