Despite close calls, Unbeaten Proteas have reached the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup.
Rob Walters’ team started the tournament by beating Sri Lanka by six wickets before narrowly edging the Netherlands by four wickets. In their last two games against Bangladesh and Nepal, the Proteas managed to scrap past somehow.
The Proteas have looked far from convincing this T20 World Cup but kept their composure when needed. In their last match, Nepal needed 31 runs from 39 balls with eight wickets in hand. The Proteas managed to pull things back to secure a one-run win over the Asian side.
Captain Aiden Markram said the team kept things simple even though Nepal looked threatening.
“[We wanted] to keep it really simple. We thought if we were still hitting a hard length the odd one would shoot low and we could keep the stumps in play,” Markram said.
Proteas to face tough matches in the Super Eight of the T20 World Cup
“I didn’t want us to go too full so that if we missed it became an easy hit,” referring to Ottneil Bartman’s over
“So sticking to that hard length, and using the short ball as we did to our advantage and just getting the timing right with bowling the short one as well worked.
“Pretty straightforward. I don’t think it was necessarily a death plan. It was your simple middle-overs plan that we felt will work best on that pitch.”
The Proteas play three tough matches in the T20 World Cup Super Eight. They first play USA at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Wednesday(19 June). Two days later, Markram’s men face off against England before their big clash with host West Indies on 24 June.
How can the Proteas reach the semi-finals?
If the Proteas are to progress into the T20 World Cup semis, they need to win at least two games.