Aiden Markram hopes to continue winning tests in Asia after winning their first test in well over a decade.
Aiden Markram hopes that the win in Mirpur opens the floodgates for winning more tests in Asia.
South Africa has been waiting for a Test victory in the subcontinent for ten years and six visits. This is something that none of their current team has ever done. Although eight of the 15-man squad had travelled Asia, only five members of the Mirpur starting XI have previously participated in a Test match in the subcontinent. Additionally, none of the players were on the South African team that last achieved success in Galle in 2014.
“It’s special. We’re a pretty young, slightly inexperienced group. So to come to the subcontinent and get a win is great for us and the environment,” Markam said at the post-match press conference. “This win does a lot for us and gives us a taste of what playing cricket in the subcontinent is like. And it excites us for the challenges that we possibly face here.”
It can also bring up memories of a period not too long ago when South Africa was the best country on the subcontinent. South Africa played 15 Test matches in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and the UAE between 2007 and 2014. They won all of them, with the exception of India, with whom they drew twice. They also lost just three of those matches. At that time, they were the most prosperous in Asia.
That ended in 2015 when South Africa lost a series to India 3-0, which set off a downward trend. South Africa played 14 additional Test matches in the subcontinent prior to this one, losing 10 of them after their victory in Galle in 2014.
Rabada and Markram, who was discharged from the UAE early, have been given permission to concentrate on Test cricket for the next two and a half months.
Despite having few Test matches on their schedule, South Africa is still in the running for the WTC final. However, they cannot afford to make many mistakes. They still have five games left, four of which will be played at home. The other one is in Chattogram the next week. In order to qualify for the final of this cycle, they need to win four or more games. And this victory has proven that they are capable of doing so.
Additionally, it has given them confidence before they travel to the subcontinent the following year to play two Test matches against India and Pakistan, where they would face even more difficult opponents.
“The biggest thing we take from it is the belief and the confidence that we actually can do well here as a team,” Markam said. “I believe that’s where a lot of the game is played. From a confidence and belief and a mental side of things. It will help the team a lot as far as moving forward and seeing if we can put back-to-back performances together goes.”