Proteas claimed victory in tight T20 World Cup games thanks to collective performance, superb leadership

The Proteas are headed to the semifinals of the T20 World Cup for the first time since 2014 following a seven-match winning streak. Their three-wicket win over West Indies on Monday morning, in what was essentially a quarterfinal, was their seventh win on the trot.

None of the victories, however, has been easy, despite coming up against associate nations in Nepal, Netherlands and the USA in their campaign.

South Africa’s most comfortable victory at the T20 World Cup was in their opening match against Sri Lanka, which they won by six wickets with 22 balls to spare.

Yet, in every one of the nail-biting encounters the side has faced, they have come out on top.

The closest they came to defeat was against Nepal in their final group-stage match.

In the final over, bowled by Ottneil Baartman, South Africa needed to defend two runs off two balls to win, and they did just that, winning by one run.

“We weren’t supposed to win that game, to be honest,” Proteas all-rounder Marco Jansen said to the media on Monday about the clash against Nepal.

“Everyone was switched on at the right time, and we just made things happen for it to go in our favour.

“Getting those close wins, it’s not very good for our nerves, but the team getting over the line in different situations and in different conditions against different opposition can only add confidence to our team going forward.

“In the past where people labelled us as chokers, that’s out of the window in our heads.

“People might say that, depending where we are and if we lose. But for us it’s all about proving those people wrong and changing the narrative going forward.”

Tight finishes

At times, the Proteas have been their own worst enemies at the T20 World Cup, handing the advantage to the opposition when in a dominant position.

When less than a run a ball was required against West Indies on Monday, both David Miller and Tristan Stubbs – who have played match-winning knocks in the tournament – played expansive strokes which led to their dismissals, leaving the door of opportunity ajar for the Caribbean side.

Nevertheless, a late, composed 14-ball 21 by Jansen saw the team home.

“The tight wins don’t serve our nerves well,” Jansen said. “[However], getting the wins over the line for the team and everyone chipping in at different stages and putting their hand up gives the team a lot of confidence that on any given day anyone can step up and finish the job for the team.”

Aiden Markram has also been astute in his captaincy, being completely  flexible in his use of resources.

When the conditions in Antigua and Barbuda, where they took on West Indies, proved to be conducive to spin bowling, he bowled 12 overs of spin, including four himself, leaving Kagiso Rabada with only two, with his first coming in the 18th over.

“No one would ever have planned to roll out the bowling lineup as it did yesterday,” head coach Rob Walter said.

“I don’t think KG [Rabada] has ever bowled his first over in the 18th over of a T20 in his career, which summed up the flexibility quite nicely.

“It was great to see Aiden bowling a bit more than he has. I’ve been pushing him to do that repeatedly.

“Given the nature of our lineup, as it was yesterday – with three seam, three spin – to be able to sum up conditions very quickly and understand how to best utilise your resources, that is a real skill to the game.”

In their group-stage match against Bangladesh the pitch in New York was more conducive to fast bowling.

Markram then, while defending only 113, used his four quicks to destabilise the Bangladeshi run chase before handing the final over to the slow left-arm of Keshav Maharaj who defended 11 runs against the tail excellently.

“We stay in contact, myself and the skipper, during the game through whatever means, but largely he is running the show there and making those decisions,” Walter said.

“It’s great to see him be innovative [at] certain moments in the game.”

A fine leader

The Proteas have lost many World Cup matches in similar situations to the ones they have won at the ongoing tournament and it is in no small part due to the outstanding captaincy of Markram.

Markram is a born leader, having won South Africa’s only World Cup title, as a junior at the under-19 World Cup exactly a decade ago.

He is also the only captain to have lifted the SA20 title, in the inaugural two seasons with the Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

“He’s probably the best captain I’ve worked with,” said Jansen, who plays alongside Markram at Sunrisers Eastern Cape. “He just remains so calm on the field. It seems like nothing fazes him, but I know on the inside he does feel it. He always keeps calm and he makes me calm when I have the ball in my hand, which is a feeling you want to have as a bowler.”

Walter, too, has been complimentary of the “understated” leadership Markram has shown.

“Aiden is a very understated leader but with guys like that, when they talk, the team listens,” the coach said.

“He has massive respect in the change room. I thought yesterday strategically [he] was very strong, and has been in the games that we’ve played to defend low scores.

“Strategically you need to get it right because there’s not a lot of margin to work with. He’s done that very well.

“He brings a real competitive edge to the team. Everyone who watches him play knows that he’s competing 100%, he’s attached to the game massively, which is great.” DM