South Africa’s captain Aiden Markram expressed confidence and excitement about their maiden T20 World Cup final against India, emphasizing his team’s hunger for wins and progress in recent years.
South Africa has shown remarkable resilience in the T20 World Cup, securing close wins that have strengthened their confidence. As they prepare for their first-ever World Cup final against India on June 29th, captain Aiden Markram emphasized his team’s positive direction in recent years.
India, burdened with the pressure of not winning an ICC title since 2013, faces a huge challenge. Both teams enter the final unbeaten, though South Africa’s journey has been marked by narrow victories against Nepal, Bangladesh, and co-hosts West Indies.
Markram expressed excitement for the final, recognizing it as a significant opportunity for the Proteas. Despite the bumps along the way, South Africa’s confidence for a victory remains high as they aim for a historic win.
“Probably I just see it as a new game of cricket, to be honest. We all know India’s a great team. Us as a team, as South Africans, have been sort of trending in the right direction the last couple of years, but maybe not progressed in tournaments as far as we would have liked. So, an exciting occasion tomorrow against a good opposition in India, but a nice opportunity for us as the Proteas as well,” said Markram.
“There have been close moments in games that would have probably affected the result and we managed to win those moments. To have done them two, three, maybe four times throughout the competition so far has sort of given the team the belief that you can win from any position, which I think is quite important for a team to have that,” he added.
Notably, despite facing travel delays, the team has maintained a positive attitude, viewing these challenges with a sense of humor.
“Yeah, we’ve had a couple (flight delays in Florida as well). I suppose a lot of other teams have gone through similar things. And we joke about it as a team and say, like, we’re kind of used to it now. There’s no point sulking around and making it more miserable than what it might already seem to be. So, it was a slightly longer day yesterday (laughs),” the skipper said.
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Markram further emphasized the team’s collective drive to win, stating that the entire unit is motivated and competitive, especially in a final. He highlighted that the team is not satisfied yet and remains hungry for a win in the T20 World Cup final.
“…you say, ‘guys, we’ve still got one more step to go’. So, it’s not driven by coach or by captain. The whole unit sort of feels that and is driven by that. …sportsmen are highly competitive people and nobody would want to lose, and especially not lose in a final. So, I think there’s no sense that the guys are satisfied regardless of the result tomorrow. I think there’s still a massive hunger for us to go out and win tomorrow’s game,” Markram concluded.
Last Updated on June 29, 2024
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