New Delhi, February 18 – South Africa captain Aiden Markram praised his bowlers after their six-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates in the T20 World Cup, saying the attack executed its plans well on a challenging pitch.
In overcast conditions at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, South Africa restricted the UAE to 122/6 before completing the chase in 13.2 overs.
"That's what it was about. It was great to see the players who came in and have been working hard to get that opportunity. I thought the bowling unit executed their plans really well on that wicket. It gives us a lot of confidence as a group to know that each player in the squad is performing well."
"It's slightly different here in New Delhi. Today, with the rain and the weather, it played a bit differently. The pitch was a little tricky up front, but it was a morning game. It's different from Ahmedabad, probably a little less bouncy, but it's good to get a good score in conditions like this, knowing that we're coming back here, and I'm sure the players will figure out what worked and what to avoid."
Markram acknowledged that the team's fielding, where they dropped four catches, was below par but said the team would learn from the mistakes. "We didn't perform well in the field today, it wasn't up to the mark. The coach will have his say, which is important."
"You don't want to create any mental pressure by not being focused, and I thought in the field, we probably didn't focus enough. So, it's a good learning experience for us, and I have no doubt that the players will perform well again in Ahmedabad."
When asked about entering the Super Eights as an unbeaten team, Markram said, "Fortunately, we have a little time before the first Super Eights game, which is a great opportunity for the players to relax and regroup.
"Going back to Ahmedabad, we've spent some time there in this tournament, so it won't be too foreign to us. It's about focusing on what we found worked there and our strengths as a team, and backing that to the fullest. Looking forward to the first game."
Corbin Bosch, the Player of the Match who took 3-12, said he kept things simple. "It was pretty basic today to keep it simple. The wicket set the stage for what we had to do. There was some movement early on, and we communicated really well as bowlers, so it made my job easier."
"I have great players in front of me that I can learn from, and it gives me the opportunity to watch what the batters are doing and how our bowlers are bowling, so I can make plans accordingly. It's definitely a bit challenging, especially in the first couple of overs, but once you get a couple of wickets, it calms down nicely."
"As I think, we had a good outing yesterday during training, so we got a good idea of what the wicket would do, and then with a bit of rain this morning, it helped the wicket a bit for us, so it definitely helped our seamers."
"I kept it more basic than I normally would, and I think it helps having Aiden as a captain. He keeps me calm and tells me to execute my best ball at any given stage, so it's nice to discuss ideas with him, but today I kept it pretty simple. It's amazing (to get 100 T20 wickets). I can't believe I got 100, but it's fantastic, and I'm proud of myself, but there's still plenty more to do."
UAE captain Muhammad Waseem acknowledged that his side struggled in the middle overs with the bat. "It was a tough outing for us as a batting team. We need to bat well, especially from the 6th to the 16th over, that middle part of the innings. To be honest, we are still in the learning process."
"So, we are learning a lot from these tournaments and from the senior players. We need to improve our batting in the middle overs, and our bowling in the last overs."
Asked about his takeaways from the tournament, Waseem said, "To be honest, the boys played excellent cricket throughout the tournament. I'm very happy with the performance of Sohaib, Aryansh Sharma, and Alishan, and I'm confident that one or two more players will perform well in the upcoming tournament. Thank you so much for the support from the crowd. They are supporting us, and I can say that they are disappointed with the result, but thank you for your support," he added.
