Narendra Modi Stadium: South Africa captain Aiden Markram admitted there were plenty of lessons to take from his side’s dramatic double super over win against Afghanistan, describing the contest as one defined by “small margins” and immense pressure.
In a Group D thriller at the Narendra Modi Stadium, South Africa posted 187/6 after a commanding 116-run opening stand between Quinton de Kock (59) and Ryan Rickleton (61). Afghanistan, powered by Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s blistering 84, matched the total to force a super over. The first super over ended tied at 17 before David Miller and Tristan Stubbs blasted 23 in the second. Keshav Maharaj then held his nerve as Afghanistan finished on 19/2, sealing a memorable victory for the Proteas.
"It's quite hard to sum that all up there. Suppose, it's a tough competition - teams put you under immense pressure. And I think, when you start putting yourselves under pressure, then you are gonna make life really hard for yourselves. So a couple of lessons that we can learn. Not at our best in a few areas which is suppose exciting. There's a room for improvement, that we can be better and ultimately you are grateful for the win and for the points,” Markram said after the game, trying to process the rollercoaster finish.
Markram explained the thinking behind his bowling choices in the super overs as he noted, "That was it. Ultimately in Super Overs you're probably picking your most confident guy. The guy who has done really well throughout the game. It was Lungi. Didn't miss by much in that first over but they still got a really good total. Shows you it's really small margins at this level which is part of the learnings and the things to realise and understand. And same story with Kesh. It's tough being a spinner. Short straight, short side but we still backed him to get the job done for us. And fortunately there was a lot of runs on the board."
At the halfway stage, Markram said that he sensed the game would be tight, stating, "I said to the boys it's a decent target but we're going to have to scrap. And we have to bowl and field well. Wasn't 100 percent comfortable with it, thought we left a few out there. But you look at the bowling attack and you look at our fielding unit. And we if we can add 10-15 through good fielding and then good bowling I thought we could make a game of it. But yeah, there's areas that we can improve. Small little phases, and it adds up to a lot in this format."
Despite the areas for improvement, Markram highlighted the significance of winning tight contests. "That is the big positive that you take from a game like this, you need to win your close games in a competition like this. There's the positive there. The boys that batted in the Super Over, heaps of belief and confidence that they can take there being under a lot of pressure and delivering their skills. There's that side to it absolutely and we don't want to wash that away either,” he stated.
At the halfway stage, Markram said that he sensed the game would be tight, stating, "I said to the boys it's a decent target but we're going to have to scrap. And we have to bowl and field well. Wasn't 100 percent comfortable with it, thought we left a few out there. But you look at the bowling attack and you look at our fielding unit. And we if we can add 10-15 through good fielding and then good bowling I thought we could make a game of it. But yeah, there's areas that we can improve. Small little phases, and it adds up to a lot in this format."
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While the Proteas escaped with the points, Markram’s words made it clear that refinement, not relief, will drive their campaign forward.