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South Africa once again choked in a run chase as their maiden World Cup win slipped out of their grasp. South Africa needed 30 runs from 30 balls but ended by losing the match to Rohit Sharma’s India by seven runs. Legendary South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers backed Aiden Markram-led side for going further than any Proteas team as this was the first time they qualified for a World Cup final. De Villiers took to X to laud the runners-up.
“Hold your heads high, @ProteasMenCSA. You went further than any SA team. You are all heroes. The best is yet to come. Congratulations to India,” De Villiers wrote on X.
Markram wants to make improvements
Markram defended his team and said that they will reflect on the loss and look to make improvements.
"It's not the first game of cricket that's been lost with a team needing 30 of 30 – it's more that India was allowed to bowl well, they're allowed to field well, they're allowed to go from that position to a position of strength," the 29-year-old said in the post-match press conference.
"...right now to pinpoint something is quite tough but we'll reflect over the next few days, over the next few weeks, try and find areas that we could have maybe improved in during today's game, but also to highlight the things that went really well for us," he added.
Markram proud of his team
Markram said he was proud of his team for maintaining an unbeaten run in the tournament before reaching the final. He vowed to come back well in the next edition of the tournament.
"I think one thing that I will definitely say is how proud we are. Not just of today, the game itself, but the competition as a whole, the build-up to get here.
"So, in hindsight, the things will still feel really good about this competition. But like I mentioned, just for the time being, it stings a bit, but it's good for it to sting. It gives you that little bit of fire in the belly for next time that you're here," he said.
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