Follow UsIt is another case of so close, yet so far, for South Africa after they succumbed to a seven-run defeat against India in the T20 World Cup 2024 final in Barbados on June 29 (Saturday). South Africa made it to the final of a World Cup for the first-ever time and were favourites to win the game, following a 23-ball fifty from Heinrich Klaasen that reduced the equation to run-a-ball 30 with six wickets in hand.
However, from there, the Indian bowlers produced a remarkable comeback and walked away with their first T20 World Cup title since 2007. Reflecting on the loss, South Africa captain Aiden Markram said it was gut-wrenching and stings a bit.
"I think one thing that will definitely say is how proud we are. Not just of today, the game itself, but the competition as a whole, the build-up to get here," Markram said at the post-match press conference.
"So, in hindsight, things will still feel really good about this competition. But like I mentioned, just for the time being, it stings a bit, but it's good for it to sting. It gives you that little bit of fire in the belly for next time that you're here."
South Africa have been on quite a journey in the T20 World Cup. They won many close matches and entered the final unbeaten. "It’s just gut-wrenching – that’s really what it is," Markram said of the emotions after the game.
"Each player has been on a different individual journey to get to this first final. Ultimately, you become really tight as a group, and you want good things to happen to this group. You know, they're great people, and when you get really close like that, especially the nature of how the game went, obviously adds to the emotions, and it's one of those things, but yeah, we can channel it moving forward.
"But I think next couple of days you let it be, you let yourself feel the way you want to feel and then really start reflecting in a positive manner."
Markram is also hopeful that South Africa's performance in this World Cup can have a "snowball effect."
"Hopefully, it's one step closer [to a trophy]. It's tournament cricket, it's tough cricket, it's not easy to win trophies and you've got to take your hats off to a team like India for lifting the trophy," Markram, who was dismissed for four in the final, said.
"A lot of hard work goes into it. But yeah, we'd like to think we're one step closer and hopefully moving forward we can get that first win and it can be a snowball effect of quite a few to come."
Speaking of the final, Markram said it was tough to pinpoint where they lost the match, but they will reflect on it over the next few days and look to improve.
"It’s not the first game of cricket that’s been lost with a team needing 30 of 30 – it’s more that India was allowed to bowl well, they're allowed to field well, they're allowed to go from that position to a position of strength," Markram said.
"It happens often in this game. Right now, to pinpoint something is quite tough, but we'll reflect over the next few days, over the next few weeks, try and find areas that we could have maybe improved in during today's game, but also to highlight the things that went really well for us."
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