Tough to get ball through ring on a slow pitch: Aiden Markram on New York deck

NEW DELHI: South Africa skipper Aiden Markram acknowledged the challenges of batting on the Nassau County pitch during a press conference on Sunday. He described the surface as "slow and fresh," making it difficult for batsmen to score runs freely.
Despite securing victories in both their T20 World Cup matches played in New York, South Africa faced significant hurdles.In their encounter against Sri Lanka, they managed to chase down a target of 78 runs, but it took them 16.2 overs to achieve it. Similarly, when facing the Netherlands, South Africa required 18.5 overs to reach the modest total of 104.
"It's still really fresh and just needs a bit of traffic. It's not your usual boundaries and ball flying everywhere. The pitch has been quite slow. That makes it even tougher to get it through the ring. That's probably the reason why it's tough," Markram said ahead of SA's third Group D match against Bangladesh on Monday.
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Markram recognized the significance of adopting the appropriate batting strategy on this particular pitch. Having already played two games, he aimed to capitalize on his experience and make the most of his time at the crease.
"We've luckily had the privilege of playing two games now on the surface and at this venue. So, hopefully, it can give us clearer plans.
"Hopefully, we can develop plans from a batting point of view to get to a score of maybe about 140 if we do bat first and hopefully then our bowlers can do the rest," he added.
Markram has reason to be pleased with his bowling unit's performance, particularly the efforts of fast bowlers Anrich Nortje and Ottniel Baartman. In the two matches played, Nortje has claimed six wickets, while Baartman has picked up five, demonstrating their effectiveness and consistency on the field.
"Both of them have been fantastic. You look at Anna (Nortje), maybe in the build up to the World Cup, he would have liked to have done better. Before his massive injury, he was, probably, one of the best bowlers in the world. I don't think that changes.
"Ottniel is really clear, keeps things really simple, got a nice skill set and that's what they back. So, it's great to see it's worked for the two of them," said Markram.
Despite entering the match riding on two successive wins, Markram was not ready to take Bangladesh lightly.
The Asian outfit had defeated Sri Lanka in their tournament opener by two wickets.
"Yeah, that would be fantastic (winning and sealing Super Eight berth). Yeah, that's sort of the first box that we want to tick.
"But again, you look at conditions, you look at a really strong Bangladesh team and it's going to be a proper challenge for us," he added.
(With PTI inputs)