Don’t have words to describe it: Rickelton

South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Ryan Rickelton was struggling to describe his side’s thrilling T20 World Cup win over Afghanistan after two Super Overs, saying that he’s just pleased to get over the line in the end. In a game for the ages, South Africa managed to get past a plucky Afghanistan after two wildly oscillating Super Overs. Rickelton (61 off 28) and Quinton de Kock (59 off 41) put together a brilliant century stand with brisk fifties to power South Africa to 187 for six in the Group D match.

Afghanistan matched that total but failed to knock off the required 23 runs when the game went into the six-ball each shootout for the second time on a frenzied day. South Africa had matched Afghanistan’s total of 17 in the first Super Over. “Cricket sucks. That’s the number one thought, I think. Yes, it was a cracking game. I actually don’t even have many words to describe it. Just really chuffed we got over the line in the end,” Rickelton said at the post-match press conference.

“Just anxiety standing there all of us, sitting upstairs fingers crossed like come on guys. It was an absolute whirlwind of a game. Yeah, we were all in it. We rode the emotions. And it was pretty tough,” said the 29-year-old who top-scored with a 28-ball 61. Kagiso Rabada’s two no balls in the final over cost South Africa dear but Rickelton said the team has rallied behind the fast bowler.

“We’ll give him (Rabada) a bit of time, but we’ll get our arms around him. We’ll probably get a couple of drinks down him later. And yeah, he’s one of us through thick and thin, so he’s always going to be there.” In the second Super Over, Keshav Maharaj bowled a dot ball and then got a wicket with Afghanistan needing to hit sixes off all the remaining four balls. Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit three consecutive sixes but lost his wicket in the final ball.

Asked about the atmosphere at the dugout at that time, he said, “Obviously, the anxiety of that. I said to Dave, who was next to me, come on, two dots, we win this game. We’re getting in three sixes in a row. “You obviously said the cats among the pigeons there, so we were just standing there saying surely not, this can’t be, this can’t be real — but I guess we’re just over the moon that we managed to get over the line.”

When asked why Maharaj was told to bowl the second Super Over, he said, “I actually was unsure. I thought KG or Marco was going to go, but it came from Shukri, saying he thinks Kesh should go. And yeah, credit to him where credit is due. I guess it worked.

“It came down to the last wire. We tried to change it up, balls slow and wide and try to get them to hit over extra cover for six to the big boundary. That would be the thinking, which is probably the most difficult shot to do. So I guess that would have been the plan.” South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, left and Ryan Rickel fist with gloves as they greet each other during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa in Ahmedabad India on Wednesday.