‘Bowlers have been incredible for us throughout this competition’ – Aiden Markram after South Africa’s T20 WC final qualification

Aiden Markram. (Source – Getty Images)

South Africa scripted history in the T20 World Cup 2024, defeating Afghanistan in the semi-final 1 of the tournament. The Proteas, under the leadership of star batter Aiden Markram, reached the summit clash of the tournament, becoming the first finalists of the 2024 edition of the mega event. 

Seeing their performance, skipper Aiden Markram came forward to give his take on the campaign that the Proteas have had. In the first semi-final against Afghanistan, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, and Anrich Nortje reduced their opponents to 28 for 6 in 6.3 overs, with Tabraiz Shamsi taking three wickets to ensure an easy run chase for his side.

Speaking of the same, Markram hailed his side’s performances with the ball throughout the tournament and stated that bowlers have played a big hand in the side’s success in the World Cup. 

“[We were] fortunate to have lost the toss, I guess. We also would have batted, so we got a bit of luck with regards to that, but the bowlers still had to get it in the right areas. They got enough balls in the right areas and made life really tough for the Afghanistan batters. So, credit to them,” Markram said in the post-match presentation ceremony. 

“They’ve been incredible throughout this whole competition for us. They’ve kept things really simple and sort of assessed conditions and adapted their plans accordingly. And they’ve been incredible for us so far,” he added. 

Chuffed to have got it over the line: Markram

Furthermore, Markram expressed his thoughts about the nature of wins that South Africa have had in the ongoing T20 World Cup. The skipper opined that he was relieved to register a dominant win. In many cases in the tournament, South Africa barely got to the winning mark, but always pulled through towards the end. 

“Chuffed to have got it over the line. A lot of our games have been really close. And I know there [have been] a lot of people back at home in the early hours of the morning, waking up, and we [have been] giving them a lot of grey hairs. So, hopefully, this evening was a little bit more comforting for them,” Markram said.