Bridgetown “gutted” South Africa captain Aiden Markram admitted “scoreboard pressure” got to his team in the T20 World Cup final against India here.
India, capitalizing on a Virat Kohli special 76 and some brilliant deadly bowling from Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, outmaneuvered South Africa, who boast some of the most explosive batsmen in the shortest format, including Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Tristan. Stubbs among others. The Proteas were in the hunt but ultimately fell short in a 176 chase.
"Gutted at the moment, it will take some time to have a good reflection on this. It hurts quite a bit, but all credit to the pitchers and everyone else on this team," Markram said at the postgame presentation.
"We bowled well, there wasn't much to work with and we restricted them to a chaseable total. We batted well, we went all the way in a great game of cricket but we couldn't be there for ourselves today," he added.
Markram acknowledged that the pressure of the chase proved too much for his players. The South Africans continued to live with the chokers tag, having failed to complete the job after Klaasen brought them within reach with his blistering 52 off 27 balls.
"We've seen a lot of our games, it's not over until the last ball is bowled. We never felt comfortable and there was always pressure on the scoreboard. That being said, this was a really good game that shows we were worthy finalists," Markram said. .
"Hopefully this prepares us very well, we are proud to compete and hopefully we can take advantage of our skills," he concluded.
The South African dugout was dejected even as the Indian players huddled together in jubilation.
Most of the Proteas players looked shattered after the final over in which Hardik Pandya picked up two wickets, ensuring that the South Africans would return home with unhealed scars.
India, capitalizing on a Virat Kohli special 76 and some brilliant deadly bowling from Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, outmaneuvered South Africa, who boast some of the most explosive batsmen in the shortest format, including Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Tristan. Stubbs among others. The Proteas were in the hunt but ultimately fell short in a 176 chase.
"Gutted at the moment, it will take some time to have a good reflection on this. It hurts quite a bit, but all credit to the pitchers and everyone else on this team," Markram said at the postgame presentation.
"We bowled well, there wasn't much to work with and we restricted them to a chaseable total. We batted well, we went all the way in a great game of cricket but we couldn't be there for ourselves today," he added.
Markram acknowledged that the pressure of the chase proved too much for his players. The South Africans continued to live with the chokers tag, having failed to complete the job after Klaasen brought them within reach with his blistering 52 off 27 balls.
"We've seen a lot of our games, it's not over until the last ball is bowled. We never felt comfortable and there was always pressure on the scoreboard. That being said, this was a really good game that shows we were worthy finalists," Markram said. .
"Hopefully this prepares us very well, we are proud to compete and hopefully we can take advantage of our skills," he concluded.
The South African dugout was dejected even as the Indian players huddled together in jubilation.
Most of the Proteas players looked shattered after the final over in which Hardik Pandya picked up two wickets, ensuring that the South Africans would return home with unhealed scars.
