When South Africa defeated Afghanistan in the first competition semi-final, they wrote history for the T20 World Cup 2024. Leading batter Aiden Markram’s Proteas to the tournament’s final match, the team advanced to become the inaugural finalists of the big event’s 2024 edition.
After witnessing their performance, captain Aiden Markram stood up to discuss his thoughts on the Proteas’ campaign. In the first semi-final matchup with Afghanistan, Tabraiz Shamsi claimed three wickets to give his team an easy run chase after Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, and Anrich Nortje reduced their opponents to 28 for 6 in 6.3 overs.
Regarding the same, Aiden Markram praised his team’s ball-handling efforts during the competition and claimed that bowlers had a significant role in the team’s World Cup win.
I suppose it was lucky for [us] to lose the toss. We had a little bit of luck there too because we would have batted, but the bowlers still needed to place their deliveries. They made things really difficult for the Afghanistan batsmen by getting enough balls in the correct places. Thus, well done to them,” Markram remarked during the post-game awards ceremony.
“They have been amazing for us throughout the entire competition. They’ve kept things fairly straightforward, sort of evaluated the situation, and modified their plans as necessary. And thus far, they’ve been fantastic for us,” he continued.
Happy to have made it over the barrier: Aiden Markram
Markram also shared his opinions over the type of victories South Africa has been having in the current T20 World Cup. The captain expressed his relief at having secured a convincing victory. South Africa came close to winning the championship on numerous occasions, but they always prevailed in the end.
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“Happy to have crossed the finish line. Our games have been really close in several of them. Furthermore, I am aware that many people have woken up early in the morning at home, and we have been giving them a lot of grey hairs. Thus, maybe, this evening provided them with a little more solace,” Markram remarked.