South African captain Aiden Markram (left) studies the pitch during a practice session ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket, final match between India and South Africa, in Barbados on June 28, 2024.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

Not known for handling pressure well on the big stage, South Africa have pulled off close wins in this competition giving them a strong belief that victory is possible from any situation, captain Aiden Markram said ahead of the T20 World Cup final against India in Barbados.

India, a team full of superstars, will have to overcome the pressure of not winning an ICC title since 2013 while South Africa head into their maiden World Cup final having not been in that position ever before.

Ahead of the summit showdown on Saturday, Markram was expectedly reminded about the past when Proteas have crumbled under pressure.

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“Probably I just see it as a new game of cricket, to be honest. We all know India’s a great team. Us as a team, as South Africans, have been sort of trending in the right direction the last couple of years, but maybe not progressed in tournaments as far as we would have liked.

“So, an exciting occasion tomorrow against a good opposition in India, but a nice opportunity for us as the Proteas as well,” said Markram.

Both South Africa and India go into the final unbeaten with the former experiencing plenty of bumps along the way.

They barely managed to put it past Nepal and Bangladesh earlier in the competition. Even the low-scoring affair against co-hosts West Indies could have gone either way.

Markram said his players have got a lot of confidence out of those close wins and they won’t settle for a runners-up finish.

“There have been close moments in games that would have probably affected the result and we managed to win those moments.

“To have done them two, three, maybe four times throughout the competition so far has sort of given the team the belief that you can win from any position, which I think is quite important for a team to have that,” said Markram.

India might be overwhelming favourites for the title but South Africa too have a lot going for them.

They are keen to add a fresh chapter to the nation’s chequered history but the schedule has not given them time to think too much about the occasion.

“You play a game, you get on a plane, you fly, you check in at a new hotel and play your next game of cricket the next day. So, I don’t think there’s too much reflecting that happens.

“But it’s more the opportunity that we have of being in a final that sort of excites me quite a bit I think after the competition we will sit back and really appreciate what we’ve achieved so far as a team,” he said.

Markram asserted that irrespective of the result on Saturday, his team is “going in the right direction.”

“But yeah, we’d love to get to our first final and be able to win that first final. And hopefully in the years to come that can break the burden of what a lot of other people are saying about us as a team,” he said.

On the seven-hour delay they experienced in Trinidad due to the closure of runway in Barbados, Markram chose to look at the positives.

“Yeah, we’ve had a couple (in Florida as well). I suppose a lot of other teams have gone through similar things. And we joke about it as a team and say, like, we’re kind of used to it now.

“There’s no point sulking around and making it more miserable than what it might already seem to be. So, it was a slightly longer day yesterday (laughs).”

On the mindset of the team after the semi-final win over Afghanistan, Markram added: “…you say, ‘guys, we’ve still got one more step to go’. So, it’s not driven by coach or by captain. The whole unit sort of feels that and is driven by that.

“…sportsmen are highly competitive people and nobody would want to lose, and especially not lose in a final. So, I think there’s no sense that the guys are satisfied regardless of the result tomorrow. I think there’s still a massive hunger for us to go out and win tomorrow’s game.”

Too hot to handle: Heinrich Klaasen has been taking the game away from the opposition virtually every time South Africa bats first.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI

It may sound odd but arguably the best batter of spin bowling in limited overs’ cricket is a South African. It is not at all odd that he is equally indomitable against pace bowlers.

No wonder then that Heinrich Klaasen is one of the most fearsome batters in world cricket, at least in 50-over-a-side format, at the moment.

Klaasen has continued his classy batting and silken touch in the Men’s ODI World Cup. His back-to-back knocks at the Wankhede Stadium, including Tuesday’s 49-ball 93, have underlined his prowess in the format.

Having joined Quinton de Kock at the crease towards the end of the 30th over, Klaasen knew that neither he would face too much of spin nor was he in danger of running out steam on yet another hot and humid day, as he did three days ago.

Still, he made the most of the nine balls he got from the spinners, tonking 20 runs. But once Bangladesh employed an all-pace strategy and the pace trio misfired as much as their England counterparts, Klaasen was up to it. Before miscuing one in the last over, he had thumped 73 runs off his 40 balls.

As if taking Mustafizur Rahman to cleaners in the 47th over wasn’t good enough with a sequence of 6, 4, 6, 2 off the last four balls wasn’t enough, Klaasen was even more severe off Shoriful Islam – the other left-arm pacer – who replaced him for the next over from the same end.

The five balls he faced off Shoriful in the 49th over fetched him 18 runs, thus giving South Africa an outside chance of crossing the 400-run mark.

Klaasen’s carnage of pace attack on the red-soil pitches at the Wankhede Stadium over the last three days has been the same despite opponents. On surfaces where the ball bounces and carries to the Proteas’ liking, Klassen has been at his best.

Even on Saturday, he was brutal against England pacers as compared to its spinners. While he scored a whopping 94 runs off the 48 balls he faced from an off-radar England pace pack, he tallied just 23 runs off 18 balls against spin.

If Quinton de Kock has been setting the foundation, Klaasen has been taking the game away from the opposition virtually every time South Africa bats first. If he can do the same while chasing, the opposition attacks will be dreading even more while bowling to him.