- Proteas batter Aiden Markram says they’ve two objectives to gain from Tuesday’s third ODI against India in Delhi.
- The Proteas need 10 ICC World Cup Super League points, along with much-needed preparation for the T20 World Cup.
- The ODI will be SA’s second at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, with the ground’s former name being the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
Proteas batter Aiden Markram says Tuesday’s third ODI against India in Delhi on Tuesday will serve a T20 World Cup preparation purpose, along with the need to get the crucial 10 ICC World Cup ODI Super League points.
The Proteas relinquished 10 critical points in Sunday’s seven-wicket loss to India in the second ODI in Ranchi.
The loss meant the Proteas can only get to 69 points and stay in ninth until they face England at the end of January.
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Markram admitted a chance to gain crucial points was dropped, but says Tuesday’s game also allows them an opportunity to gain points and T20 World Cup practice.
“There are two sides to it. If we get to look at it from one side, we also get to play some cricket,” Markram said.
“We get to stay out in the park and guys get to find some form. That’s one of the positives, but we’re looking to take as many as we can from them.
“The two formats are slightly different and we’re looking at taking every positive that we can, but this series is very important for us from an ODI Super League perspective.
“We’re giving it our all and we’ll try to take every positive from the ODI series into the World Cup.”
The game at the ground that’s now known as the Arun Jaitley Stadium after existing as the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium since 1883 will be SA’s second ODI there.
They first played there against the West Indies at the 2011 World Cup, but have won the two T20s they’ve played there against India and Sri Lanka.
Markram missed the T20 in June this year where David Miller (64* off 31) and Rassie van der Dussen (75* off 46) helped take down the tall target India had set them.
Markram said the experience of players who know how different the Delhi cauldron gets during the day and at night will come in handy
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“I’ve never played a game in Delhi before. I got Covid-19 before a game I was supposed to play there,” Markram said.
“Fortunately, there are a lot of guys in our team who have played there before and have knowledge about the venue.
“We’ll try to take in all of the information, be best prepared for the conditions, and try to execute as best as we can.”
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