South Africa “Gutted” After Final Loss to India

AFP/APP

Bridgetown: South Africa captain Aiden Markram said he was “gutted” after his team lost their first-ever T20 World Cup final by seven runs to India.

Having ended a run of seven semi-final losses — in both short-form formats — with their victory over Afghanistan on Wednesday, the Proteas came agonizingly close to their maiden World Cup title.

Heinrich Klaasen blistering 52 from 27 balls, with five sixes and two fours, put South Africa in position to win before India’s ‘death’ bowlers turned the screw.

“Obviously gutted. It will take some time for us to reflect on this. We’ve had a great campaign but for the time being, this hurts. I am so proud of all my players and everyone involved in this team,” said Markram.

“We bowled very well, the pitch didn’t give them much to work with. We thought it was a chaseable total. It was a great game of cricket, I’m chuffed with all my guys, it’s hard not to get over the line but I’ll always be proud of them,” he said.

“We’ve seen that it’s not over until the last ball for a lot of our games. It changed quickly at the end there. But we were in a great position. We know we could’ve won the game,” he added.