It feels good to be in the final round: Aiden Markram

The captain of South Africa, Aiden Markram, was happy to see his team overcome a difficult course in the semifinal to advance to their first-ever T20 World Cup final even if he was certain that he did not want to play another game on this field.

The Brian Lara Academy stadium’s deck allowed for a lot of movement off the seam, which South African quicks took full advantage of to bowl out Afghanistan for a pitiful 56 runs.

“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 after SA defeated Afghanistan by nine wickets.

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. 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 either against India or England.

“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.

For now though, Markram wants to enjoy the sensation of going into a World Cup final match.

“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 captain of South Africa stated that winning close games in the Super Eights and group stages gave them more confidence.

“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.

In a sense, South Africa had made up for all of its previous mistakes in international affairs, but Markram maintained that the past was not discussed in the present team’s locker room.

“We haven’t spoken about it to be honest. I think it’s a personal and individual motivation that you get to a final; to earn the opportunity to lift the trophy.

The 29-year-old patted South African bowlers for making the semifinal a lopsided affair after bowling out Afghanistan for a record low of 56.

Markram had led South Africa to the under-19 World Cup title a decade ago, but he was not really banking on that experience here.

“It’s a really long time ago and my memory is not great, but you get a little bit of confidence and belief knowing you have done it on a certain level before. There are similar pressures that you have to deal with being in a final,” he added.

Markram was also gracious enough to acknowledge the wonderful run Afghanistan had in this event.

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