South Africa captain Aiden Markram admitted the team’s crushing defeat against New Zealand in the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup felt like a “slap in the face” after an otherwise strong campaign.
New Zealand chased down South Africa’s total of 169 with ease, winning by nine wickets in less than 13 overs. A stunning 33-ball century from Finn Allen sealed the game quickly and ended South Africa’s unbeaten run in the tournament.
Speaking after the match, Markram said the defeat was deeply disappointing for the team.
“We are hugely disappointed. It is not a slap in the face, but it feels like it,” Markram said. “But because of that, we will have to come out stronger and be better as a team moving forward.”
South Africa falls short with the bat
South Africa began their innings steadily after being asked to bat. They reached 48 for 2 in the power play and looked set to build a strong total.
However, a sudden collapse in the middle overs changed the game. The team slipped from 55 for 2 to 77 for 5 after quick wickets of Markram, David Miller, and Dewald Brevis.
Markram said the pitch at Eden Gardens looked good for batting and believed his side could have aimed for a higher score.
“We expected the wicket to play really well. Maybe we needed a more old-school approach with the bat and tried to push the score close to 190,” he said.
Despite the collapse, South Africa managed to recover thanks to a strong effort from Marco Jansen and Tristan Stubbs. The pair added 73 runs for the sixth wicket, helping the team reach 169.
Jansen scored a quick half-century from 27 balls and hit five sixes during his counterattacking innings.
New Zealand dominates the chase
New Zealand made a flying start with the bat and never allowed South Africa back into the game.
Openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert added 100 runs in just 47 balls, putting the match beyond South Africa’s reach very early.
Markram said once the New Zealand openers started hitting boundaries freely, it became almost impossible to stop them.
“Their power play was outstanding. When they started like that you cannot protect every boundary,” he said.
Markram is proud despite the exit
Despite the heavy defeat, Markram said he was proud of the way his team performed throughout the tournament.
South Africa had reached the semi-final unbeaten, but their campaign ended on a disappointing night.
Markram said the team will take some time to process the loss before reviewing the game and learning from it.
“We will let the emotions settle first,” he said. “Then we will break the game down, find the areas where we could have been better and try to improve for the future.”
