Ahmedabad, February 15 South Africa captain Aiden Markram says his team has moved "much closer" to playing to their full potential as they dominated New Zealand to edge closer to the Super 8s in the T20 World Cup.
South Africa were clinical with both the ball and bat, first restricting New Zealand to 175 on what Markram felt was a pitch capable of producing a 200-plus total, before comfortably chasing the target.
"Definitely much closer to our full potential tonight. I thought most aspects of the game were really strong," Markram said after the comprehensive win on Saturday night.
"To keep them under what we felt was probably a 200-type pitch was a massive effort. The pitch played really well and got better as the night went on," he said.
Ahead of the match, Markram had said that his team was not playing to its full potential. The South Africa captain credited the bowlers for intelligently reading the conditions and executing their variations with conviction.
"It's not a fixed plan. It's very much dependent on the approach of the batsmen. If a batsman is really attacking and trying to take you down, you need to play with his pace, and that's through variations in pace," he explained.
"There will be phases where it can be tricky. It's a fine balance. But the key tonight was the conviction behind what they did and that gut feeling. We went with that, and it worked in our favour in the first innings."
He added that field placements were largely bowler-driven to provide flexibility in terms of pace-on and pace-off options.
"It gives you options to bowl both wide and straight. That's what most teams are aiming for – flexibility based on the type of bowler and the nature of the pitch."
Markram also highlighted attitude as a key factor, particularly when New Zealand threatened with a partnership between Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell.
"When there's a partnership building, you can't go away. It starts with the batsman at the top of his mark holding the ball. That attitude keeps you in the game. When you execute like we did tonight, you stand a chance to break partnerships," he noted.
In the chase, South Africa benefited from improved batting conditions under lights, with dew helping the ball come on better.
"Generally, the new ball comes on pretty well, and then in the second innings, there's slightly more dew. It hasn't been much, but there's a bit of that, and it contributes to the ball coming on better."
The captain also praised the strong turnout at the Narendra Modi Stadium, saying the lively atmosphere added to the occasion. Close to 55,000 fans thronged the stadium to watch the action.
"As players, we love playing in front of a large crowd, and that's exactly what tonight was. Great to see such a big turnout and good effort from the boys," Markram said.
On his own batting approach, he emphasized the importance of leading by example in the evolving T20 format. Markram hit an unbeaten 86 to anchor the chase.
"You can't preach to the boys and not do it yourself. If good conditions and positive intent combine, you need to take it up front. I don't think I'll be a typical aggressive batsman. I need to do it differently, but with the intent to get the team off to a strong start," he added.
