'We believe we can win trophies': Markram

Skipper Aiden ecstatic with South Africa’s maiden World Cup final entry after win over Afghans; says he is happy to be not playing again on the Trinidad pitch which had uneven bounce

South Africa exorcised their agonising semi-final jinx through an exceptional spell of pace bowling as they walloped an emotionally drained Afghanistan by nine wickets to enter their first-ever T20 World Cup final here.

Marco Jansen (3-16) Kagiso Rabada (2-14) and Anrich Nortje (2-7) ripped the soul out of the Afghanistan top-order while bundling them out for a paltry 56 in just 11.5 overs after being invited to bowl.

Aiden Markram

Despite the early departure of Quinton de Kock, bowled through the gate by impressive pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi, the Proteas had little trouble in reaching 60 for one in 8.5 overs.

Reeza Hendricks (29 not out), who put up his highest score in this event, and Aiden Markram (23 not out) navigated them safely to the shores of victory as they have finally freed themselves from the painful tag of chokers in global events.

Challenging track

South African skipper Markram was certain that he does not want to play another match on the pitch here, but was chuffed to see his side tame a challenging track.
The deck at the Brian Lara Academy Stadium offered considerable movement off the seam.

“If we reflect back on this wicket, we’ll probably be pretty happy that we’re not playing here again. T20 cricket as a whole, you want entertainment,” said Markram in the post-match press meet.

Markram was delighted to see South Africa finding a way to win on a challenging strip.

“The wickets that we’ve had throughout the competition have been pretty challenging. It’s hard to tell that a wicket is not good because it can’t just always be a batter’s game.

Also Read: A look at South Africa's painful past at ICC events

Tough wickets to bat on

“Having said that, still taking the positives we can. Wickets are tough. So, finding a way to win is probably the most important thing.”

South Africa will now travel to Barbados for the final. “We’ve been doing it for most of our careers, you jump from venue to venue where conditions are quite different. So, it’s again just adapting and playing the pitch and the game that’s in front of you.

“We’ll try to find ways to always take wickets with the ball and from a batting point of view try to get to a score that’s defendable. Both teams have to play on the same wicket,” he noted.

But for now, Markram wants to relish the feeling of entering a World Cup title clash. “The bits that we’re realising now, it’s obviously a really nice feeling. This team’s been together for a long time now as a white ball group, and it’s nice for us to get to a final.

“We feel and believe that we can compete with the best in the world and we can win trophies. It’s nice for us to now have that opportunity.”

The SA captain said winning close games in the group and Super Eights stages of boosted their confidence. “You do get belief from winning close games and potentially winning games that you thought you weren’t going to win.

“It does a lot for your changing room vibe. So, we’ll take a little bit of confidence from that and see if we can put it to any use in the final,” he offered.

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