South Africa coach Shukri Conrad wants the Proteas to embrace the favourites tag ahead of their cut-throat semifinal against New Zealand at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The Proteas stayed unbeaten at the T20 World Cup with an emphatic five-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in Delhi on Sunday and now get set to take on the Black Caps with a spot in the title decider the prize for the winner in an eagerly awaited semifinal on Wednesday.
While the stakes may be higher in a knockout semifinal and the opposition more difficult, Conrad is backing his players to handle the pressure with aplomb and continue their winning run.
“There’s always pressure. I think it’s what you do with that pressure and how you shift the pressure,” Conrad said. “It’s really about embracing that pressure. And we don’t do things any differently. We’re going to prepare exactly the same way for New Zealand.
South Africa cruise to five-wicket victory over Zimbabwe, meet New Zealand in semifinals
“Whether we start as favourites, probably because we’re the only unbeaten side in the competition. But I don’t know if that adds to the pressure. I think the semifinal is pressure enough. Playing a top side New Zealand is pressure enough.
“So, there’s no added pressure and I’m glad that we’re favourites because I always felt that as a South African team, you want to be able to play as a favourite because it’s easy being an underdog. The expectation isn’t great or that much. And now we’ve assumed the tag which we don’t really talk much about.
“But if we can continue doing what we’re doing, then yeah, you need a little bit of luck along the way as well. And hopefully that will give us the result on Wednesday and then on to our home ground in Ahmedabad,” he said.
Proteas’ skipper Markram the key
If the Proteas are to keep their winning streak intact and qualify for that final in Ahmedabad that Conrad mentions, then it’s likely that skipper Aiden Markram will be leading the way following his excellent tournament to date with the bat.
Markram is the leading run-scorer at the T20 World Cup across the four teams remaining in the semifinals and Conrad believes the South Africa captain has learnt a lot since the Proteas’ runner-up finish behind India at the most recent edition of the tournament in 2024.
“I think obviously the guys are richer for that (2024 final) experience,” Conrad said. “They have learned so much about themselves and Aiden has been fantastic both with bat in hand as you mentioned and as a leader as well as a captain.
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“But you’re only as good as your troops and he’d be the first one to admit that. So it’s easy to captain a bowling unit that’s on top of their game and batters that are firing. But Aiden has been at the forefront of all of everything that we do.
“I think our experience in the last T20 World Cup will stand us in good stead. And again, when you keep making semifinals and finals, and I’ve said this many a time previously, If you continually make semifinals and finals, eventually you’re going to win one.
“But if you don’t make it, you can’t win anything. So, you’ve given us a 25 percent chance now, if my math doesn’t fail me and then hopefully on Wednesday evening that will have gone up to about 50 percent,” he added.
