I said to boys we are going to scrap: Markram against Afghanistan
South Africa skipper Aiden Markram had asked his teammates to be prepared for a “scrap” against Afghanistan in what turned out to be one of the greatest T20 World Cup matches of all time here Wednesday. South Africa pipped Afghanistan after two Super Overs in a thrilling Group D match after posting 187 for six. 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.
“It’s quite hard to sum that all up. Tough competition — teams put you under immense pressure. And when you start putting yourselves under pressure, life gets hard. Grateful for the win and the points,” Markram said at the presentation ceremony. While pacer Lungi Ngidi, who bowled exceptionally well in the regulation time to win the Player of the Match award, conceded 17 runs in the first Super Over, spinner Keshav Maharaj succeeded for South Africa the second time, picking up two wickets to seal the contest in his team’s favour.
“Ultimately in Super Overs you’re picking your most confident guys. Lungi didn’t miss by much in the first over but they still got a good score. Same story with Kesh. Tough being a spinner. Still backed him. “I said to the boys it’s a decent target but we’re going to scrap. Wasn’t 100 percent comfortable with it, thought we left a few out there,” Markram said. In this game the captain saw areas that needed improvements.
“There’s areas we can improve. Small little phases, and it adds up to a lot in this format. That is the positive you take from a game like this, you need to win games like this. “Important to get a really good start in this format and that’s exactly what they did for us. Two of them batted really nicely, taking the game on.” Afghan camp distraught: The great competitor that he is, Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan could not hide his disappointment after the heartbreaking defeat for a side known for their spirited displays and an eagerness to improve with each tournament.
“The boys did an amazing job, especially with the way they started with the bat. To restrict them under 190 was amazing. So so unlucky to be part of losing team. Gave everything on the ground. This wicket is good, played a lot in IPL on this wicket,” Rashid said. “Discussion with the team was “yes they had a good start but try to restrict them in last 10 overs.” The star leg-spinner was full of praise for opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s efforts, smashing a 42-ball 84 before nearly pulling it off for Afghanistan with his 4-ball 18 in the second Super Over.
