New Delhi, March 1 South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad made a subtle jab at the host broadcaster of the T20 World Cup on Sunday for airing a commercial related to the "chokers" tag associated with the Proteas ahead of their game against India here.
The commercial proved to be outdated as South Africa thrashed India in their Super Eights opener and are the team to beat in the tournament. South Africa were finally able to shed the longstanding "chokers" tag by winning the World Test Championship title last year.
Responding to a question about the pressure ahead of the T20 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, Conrad pointed out to the "cupcakes" in addition to the usual "chokers" reference in a lighthearted remark.
"There's always pressure. I think it's about how you deal with that pressure and how you turn it into something positive. As for the "cupcakes," I think there's another term for it. I think we kind of enjoyed that," said Conrad after South Africa's win over Zimbabwe in their final Super Eights game.
"But no, there's always pressure, and it's really about embracing that pressure. And we're not doing anything differently. We're going to prepare the same way for New Zealand."
South Africa are a strong contender for the title after finishing as runners-up to India in the previous edition.
"Whether we start as favourites, probably because we're the only unbeaten side in the competition. But I don't know if that adds to the pressure. I think the semi-final is pressure enough.
"Playing a top side like New Zealand is pressure enough. So there's no added pressure, and I'm glad that we're favourites because I always felt that as a South African team, you want to be able to play as a favourite because it's easy being an underdog."
He added: "The expectation isn't great or that much. And now we've assumed the tag which we don't really talk about much. But if we can continue doing what we're doing, then yeah, you need a little bit of luck along the way as well.
"And yeah, hopefully that will give us the result on Wednesday and then on to our home ground in Ahmedabad (for the final)," said Conrad in another witty reference to Ahmedabad, where they have played the majority of their games so far.
