South Africa Captain Aiden Markram is confident that South Africa can finally end their poor run at the ICC tournaments as they are all set to take on Sri Lanka in the Group D opener at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Long Island, New York as well. The new stadium recently hosted its first international match where India convincingly defeated Bangladesh by 60 runs, with pacers playing a key role by taking seven wickets, posing a selection dilemma for South Africa as well who brought three frontline spinners as well.

“On the day we will have to assess really quickly and then adapt plans that will help us do well,” Markram told reporters on Sunday. “It is an exciting day; we didn’t think we would ever be playing a World Cup game in New York. It’s a beautiful training facility and we will get a first look at the stadium and the pitch later to assess things. We are used to mostly playing in the evenings, but we have had a routine since we got here to wake up early and do things together as a team early in the mornings. By now, we are used to it.”

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Meanwhile, South Africa has faced a lot of disappointments in the 50-over and 20-over World Cups as they always saw the exit in unexpected ways as well. This time, Aiden Markram believes that if they perform to their full potential, they can beat any team as well.

“I am feeling quietly confident,” Aiden Markram concluded. “There are really good teams here but we feel if we find our form and play to the best of our ability, we can beat anyone. We have put a lot of focus on ourselves and we will see where it gets us. But we are certainly here to lift the trophy.”