Ahmedabad, February 11 South Africa captain Aiden Markram had asked his teammates to be prepared for a "struggle" against Afghanistan in what turned out to be one of the greatest T20 World Cup matches of all time here on Wednesday.
South Africa edged out Afghanistan after two Super Overs in a thrilling Group D match after posting 187 for six. Afghanistan matched that total but failed to knock off the required 23 runs when the game went into a six-ball shootout for the second time on a frenzied day.
"It's quite difficult to sum up. It was a tough competition – teams put you under immense pressure. And when you start putting yourselves under pressure, life gets difficult. I'm grateful for the win and the points," Markram said at the presentation ceremony.
While pacer Lungi Ngidi, who bowled exceptionally well during the regular time to win the Player of the Match award, conceded 17 runs in the first Super Over, spinner Keshav Maharaj succeeded for South Africa the second time, picking up two wickets to seal the contest in his team's favour.
"Ultimately, in Super Overs, you're choosing your most confident players. Lungi almost got it right in the first over, but they still managed to score well. The same goes for Kesh. It's tough to be a spinner. I still backed him," Markram said.
"I told the boys that it was a decent target, but we were going to fight hard. I wasn't 100% comfortable with it, but we left a few things out there," Markram added.
In this game, the captain identified areas that needed improvement.
"There are areas we can improve. Small phases can add up to a lot in this format. That's the positive you take from a game like this – you need to win games like this.
"It's important to get a really good start in this format, and that's exactly what they did for us. Two of them batted really well, taking the game to the last ball," Markram said.
Afghan camp distraught
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The great competitor that he is, Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan could not hide his disappointment after the heartbreaking defeat for a side known for their spirited displays and an eagerness to improve with each tournament.
"The boys did an amazing job, especially with the way they started with the bat. Restricting them to under 190 was amazing. It's so unlucky to be part of the losing team. We gave everything on the field. This wicket is good; I've played a lot in the IPL on this wicket," Rashid said.
"The discussion with the team was, 'yes, they had a good start, but we need to try and restrict them in the last 10 overs'," Rashid added.
The star leg-spinner was full of praise for opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who smashed a 42-ball 84 before nearly pulling it off for Afghanistan with his 4-ball 18 in the second Super Over.
"Amazing innings. That's what he's famous for. In the last couple of overs in the powerplay, where we lost quick wickets, he put us under pressure. Overall, he played amazingly. We had our opportunities. In the last Super Over, we could have scored 5 runs off one ball.
"We could have been smarter. One dive, one ball, and we could have won. We worked hard for the last 1.5 years to get to this stage. It's very disappointing.
"Any time you're representing your country, it's a proud moment. I'll try my best to keep them up," Rashid added.
On his part, Ngidi said he has "never been this stressed" in his life.
"I lost so much weight today. I've never been this stressed in a cricket game before. I'm happy to have come out on top. I knew I'd probably be the super over option, and the captain said to keep doing the same. I messed up in the first over, but it didn't go to plan," Ngidi said.
