As the second and final Test between South Africa and Bangladesh kicks off on October 29 in Chattogram, South Africa holds a 1-0 lead in the series. But despite their dominant victory in the opening Test, South Africa remain cautious and are prepared for the challenges that Bangladesh could present in the decisive game.

In a pre-match press conference, South African stand-in captain Aiden Markram highlighted their intent to maintain consistency, emphasizing that their approach would be to “take it session by session.” Markram commented, “It's just an exciting opportunity that could be. So that's almost how we're trying to view it. You probably still need to win a lot of your remaining games of cricket. And we've got five left until we'll know what our fate is. And five test matches is a lot of cricket. There's a lot of cricket to be played. So that's pretty much where we're at now. We know if we can go session by session and game for a game, we hopefully give ourselves a good chance.”

Following their first Test win, the Proteas are buoyed by the confidence that comes with a rare Test victory in subcontinental conditions. Markram said, “Hopefully we can put in another good performance. We obviously always appreciate the opposition we're against, and especially Bangladesh now in their own condition. So we've got no doubt it's going to be a tough game for sure. But hopefully we can back it up and keep that good energy and good vibes in the chain.”

Besides the formidable on-field challenges, the South African team must contend with intense heat and high humidity in Chattogram, exacerbated by the seaside conditions. However, Markram assured that the team is prepared. “From a weather point of view, there's not too much we can do besides hydrate well and make sure we keep our bodies in the healthiest way in a good way. So, yeah, it's each guy, again, on how they're feeling, how their body's feeling. We just make sure we pay a lot of attention towards that,” he added.