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Aiden markram
Isuru Sameera Peiris / Gallo Images
- Aiden Markram says the Protea are putting some plans in place to fight Sri Lanka’s unpredictable side.
- When the teams last met in test cricket, Sri Lanka caused an astonishing surprise to claim a 2-0 victory in South Africa.
- The Proteas face Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series with the first Test starting on Saturday.
In February last year, Sri Lanka made history by surprising the Proteas in their own backyard by securing a 2-0 series victory.
They became the first team from the subcontinent to claim a series victory off the coast of South Africa.
This week, the Proteas look to overcome that loss ahead of the opening test at Centurion on Saturday.
Aiden markram , who was part of that 2019 Proteas team, stated that the team has spoken extensively about the defeat of that series.
“We definitely touched on what happened the last time they were here,” he told reporters Wednesday.
“It’s hard to pin down a reason why we lost 2-0, but at the end of the day, our skills weren’t up to scratch and we didn’t perform well enough to win the series.”
Markram revealed that the Proteas are making plans to fight alongside Mickey Arthur.
“If I’m not mistaken, the (Sri Lankan) team is similar to the previous series, so we have been lucky enough to face them … It will be a big challenge for us. They were certainly a handful last time we faced them. “Markram said.
“We are in the process of putting together plans to combat that hopefully and we understand that it will be a challenge with the bat and the ball, especially at Highveld where there is pace and rebound.
“It’s exciting, we have to hit for longer periods of time, do a lot of runs on the board and put them under pressure.”
This will be Proteas’ first Test match since January 26 when they lost their third consecutive Test against England at the Wanderers.
South Africa have only won two of their last 10 Tests and have yet to register a Test victory in three matches in 2020.
Markram believes that if they can start running and put performances on the board, the Proteas could get back on the winning track.
“I think a big advantage is that we haven’t played tryout cricket in a while so the hunger levels have increased for all the players in the camp,” said Markram, who has played 20 tryouts so far.
“It’s about putting performance on the board, that’s how we’re going to get results, certain people have a responsibility to go big and put the team in the winning position … It’s about putting ourselves in positions where we can win the game. game. If we get going and do performances, hopefully that will allow us to win the game. “
READ | Markram eager to cement Proteas’s place, test captaincy is not on his radar
Markram, who has been in good shape for the Titans this season, insisted his top priority is to secure a spot in the starting XI and spend as much time in the crease.
“I am moving well and things are starting to go back to the way they were 18 months ago. I am not going to think too much about form as I think it is important to start fresh against Sri Lanka, if selected,” he said. Markram.
“My focus is on batting time in test cricket and spending time on the fold and figuring things out in between.”
Saturday’s game starts at 10:00.
