NEW YORK: South Africa captain Aiden Markram won the toss and opted to bat against Bangladesh at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York in their Group D clash in the ongoing T20 World Cup on Monday.
South Africa and Bangladesh are unbeaten in the ongoing tournament. The Tigers opened their campaign against Sri Lanka and edged past them in a nail-biting thriller. The Proteas have won their first two games and will look to take a step closer to confirming their spot in the Super 8.
The New York pitch is expected to play a similar fashion just like it did 12 hours ago during the high-voltage clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan.
After winning the toss, South Africa skipper Aiden Markram said, “We’ll bat first. The reason being it is a used wicket. If it does change, we can set the pace and it is tough to chase. We back ourselves for setting a good total. As a whole, the tournament has leaned towards teams batting first. It is about the last 10 overs in each innings, and chasing might be tougher. 100 per cent need to find some form, myself included. The head space is right, hopefully, a matter of time”.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said during the time of the toss, “I wanted to bowl, so happy to bowl first. We have one change, Soumya Sarkar not playing. We feel good to see the crowds come out here and support us. It was an important win, the boys have done a lot of hard work and hopefully, we can do something special today. We have been struggling with a leggie, finally got one who takes wickets”.
South Africa (Playing XI): Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ottneil Baartman
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das(w), Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Jaker Ali, Mahmudullah, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman. (ANI)