South African’s stand-in skipper Aiden Markaram said it in simple words to describe the heat factor that took a huge toll on both teams when they faced England at Wankhede Stadium on October 20. Both teams struggled a lot in the game and looked drained by the heat and humidity.
The heat is not unusual in Mumbai at this time of the year. Coupled with air pollution, the conditions can be troublesome for any team at this venue.
English and South African cricketers were seen struggling at different juncture of the game and needed repeated water breaks. Even as the temperatures were at 32-33 degrees celsius it felt a lot worse.
“I do certainly think our previous game here was a bit of a rude awakening. We always knew it was going to be hot and humid coming to India in general, and especially Mumbai and places like Chennai. But it was quite brutal the other night,” Markram said.
“So, most of the guys have got their feet up but there are still one or two just ticking a few boxes and making sure that mentally they go into tomorrow feeling ready,” he added.
Heinrich Klaassen certainly felt the heat more than anyone else. He fought off the English attack as well as the punishing weather. Klaassen, who coped with the extreme conditions in his blistering knock of 109 off 67 balls, did not take part in the optional training session at Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
“It’s like breathing in hot air, and every time you try to run it’s just sapping more and more energy, and then your body just doesn’t want to work with you anymore. It’s almost like running in a sauna for the whole innings. We prepare for that and we’re used to these conditions, but it still takes a lot out of the body,” Klaassen said following the game.
Markaram added that Klaasen is doing fine and will be raring to go again in the same conditions against Bangladesh on Tuesday.
“Klaas is a big sweater, so I assume it would play a role but I think for anyone in those conditions it would have taken a lot out of him and would have taken a day or two to recover most certainly so it’s not his fault that he sweats a lot but unfortunately that’s what he does. He gets quite worked up out there in the middle. I’m sure we all saw that,” Markram said.
“He’s a competitor and he’s really passionate about trying to do well for his country. I think you combine all of those factors together and come the end of the game I think you’re quite fatigued. The treatment and stuff he’s been doing, obviously a lot of sleep, it’s one of the most important things and it’s quite easy to do. But nutrition, massages, checking in with the physio, those sorts of things are quite important. So, he’s loading up his fuel tank and hopefully he’ll be in a good space to go again tomorrow,” Markram added.
South Africa now know what to expect at this venue having endured it in the last game, but that’s not quite the case for Bangladesh, who arrived from Pune after their previous fixture. However, practice sessions in scorching on Sunday gave them a glimpse of what to expect.
Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who was present in Monday’s practice, was not available of Sunday due to dehydration while assistant fielding coach Faisal Hossain fell down on the field as he was unable to cope due to excessive heat and was taken away immediately. The cricketers were seen hydrating themselves regularly.
“We want to rest and hydrate, take care of ourselves,” Shakib said. “We saw England and South Africa suffer in the weather. We are used to hot weather but it won’t be easy for us. The weather will treat both teams equally. Humidity is the major problem. No matter how much water you drink, you still lose fluid from your body. You get tired quickly. You can get cramps. I think it will be difficult for both teams,” Shakib said.
