With the series level at 1-1, SA and India will square off in the third and final ODI in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
As much as they want to clinch a series victory on Saturday, Proteas batter Aiden Markram says the national side are equally focused on “learning and improving” in the long-term build-up to the 2027 World Cup on home soil.
The SA team dug deep on Wednesday to snatch a hard-fought four-wicket win with four balls to spare in the second ODI against India in Raipur.
The tourists compiled 362/6, achieving the highest successful run chase in an ODI against India, levelling the three-match series at 1-1 ahead of the series decider in Visakhapatnam on Saturday (10am start).
Having fallen 17 runs short in the first match earlier in the week, when they were chasing 350 to win, Markram said he had felt some guilt after they lost three early wickets in the series opener.
Making up for it in the second fixture, the opener laid a solid foundation, contributing 110 runs – his fourth ODI century – to receive the Player of the Match award.
“I feel being three down early in the first game made a lot of difference in the result. From a personal point of view I felt quite responsible for that,” Markram said.
“We’ve got some great hitters and batters in the middle- and lower-order, and if you give them a chance they can do damage, so that was my thinking coming in.”
Sights set on 2027 World Cup
Having been given a boost in confidence ahead of the third game, Markram said they were confident of putting up a fight again.
The Proteas had a long-term vision, however, and the experienced batter said they were not losing sight of that.
“There is still lots of learning for us to do and improvements we can make going into the Vizag (Visakhapatnam) game, so that’s what a lot of the discussions will be based around,” Markram said.
“As much as we want to win the series, the main goal is that World Cup in 2027 and we want to sort of keep going in that direction, so we won’t lose focus on that.”
Seam bowler Nandre Burger and middle-order batter Tony de Zorzi both left the field during the match in Raipur on Wednesday after picking up niggles, and they needed to undergo medical assessments before Proteas team management would know if either player would be available for the series decider.
