South Africa cricket team defeated Rashid Khan's Afghanistan by 9 wickets in the semi-final of the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad, on June 27 (Thursday) to reach their first-ever ICC World Cup Final of any format. With this victory, Aiden Markram became the first Proteas captain to win a World Cup semi-final match. After the match, he also addressed competing in the final and said it is nothing to be scared about as they have some world-class players in their side.
Aiden Markram on winning the semi-final
Markram said it is not only the captain that gets you there and it is a massive team effort. On playing the final, he said that it is an opportunity that they never had before but it is nothing to be scared of. He also addressed how they were fortunate to lose the toss as they would have batted first as well.
“Feels good. It's not only the captain that gets you here, it is a massive squad effort. Plenty of guys behind the scenes as well. Fortunate to have lost the toss, we would have batted too. We were brilliant with the ball, got it in the right areas, and kept it really simple. The bowlers have been incredible for us. It was challenging with the bat, no batter is going to lie and tell you it was easy out there,” said Aiden Markram in the post-match presentation.
“We had a bit of luck and then got a bit of a partnership. We have had a few close games and a few people back home would have woken up early with more grey hairs. Glad today was a bit more comforting. (On the final) It is one more step for us, it is an opportunity we have never had, nothing to be scared of. This win means a lot, we have some world class players in the side but like I said, it takes a whole squad to be able to deliver such a performance,” he added.
South Africa qualify for Final
South African bowlers were the real hero for this win over Afghanistan. They bowled out the Afghan side on just 56 runs by the 12th over itself. Marco Jansen and Tabraiz Shamsi picked three wickets each. Meanwhile, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje got two wickets each. Then after a slow start and losing the wicket of Quinton de Kock in the second over itself, Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks took Proteas over the line.
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