Following the disappointing and heartbreaking exit in the T20 World Cup, Proteas coach Shukri Conrad described their loss to New Zealand as a “walloping” and not a “choke’” as they are referred to for their record of crumbling in high-pressure games.
South Africa succumbed to a heavy nine-wicket defeat to the Black Caps during their semifinal clash at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Shocking defeat
It was a rather shocking defeat for the Proteas, as they were the only ones unbeaten among the four remaining teams in the competition and all to lose in the semifinals, and in a humiliating fashion.
“I don’t know if [Wednesday] tonight was a choke. I thought it was a bloody walloping,” Conrad said without mincing his words during a post-match press conference.
“In order for you to choke, you must have had a sniff of the game. We didn’t have a sniff. In South Africa, we’d say we ‘got moered (heavy beating).”
Conrad did not hold back in scrutinising his side, as he continued to use Afrikaans words to describe how bad the defeat was on the night.
“Tonight, we got a proper ‘snotklap’— that’s an Afrikaans word for a real hiding, a smack you don’t see coming. That’s what it felt like,” Conrad added.
Batting disaster
Tasked to bat first after New Zealand won the toss, South Africa did not come to the party, as they lost wickets in relentless succession and made a run chase of 169 runs.
At that point, one would expect the Proteas to react positively and come out strong, but their body language told a different story, especially with the two dropped catches early on.
New Zealand took full advantage of that, particularly Finn Allen (100 not out off 33 balls) and Tim Seifert (58 off 34 balls), who ran rampant in dispatching them and inflicted more pain on captain Aiden Markram, who was part of the team that fell short in the previous T20 final against India in Barbados.
“Obviously disappointed with the result, but very proud of this group of guys who have played some really good cricket throughout this competition, and it’s just an unfortunate evening really,” Markram said.
“I think you let the emotions settle first and foremost. Once they have, we’ll have a discussion as a group, and all you do is break down the game and try to find the areas that could have been better.
“Get back on the horse, and you try and improve as a group and as individuals, and hopefully that puts you in good standing for the future. So yeah, again, hugely disappointed. It’s a big slap in the face. But because of that, ultimately, we will have to come out stronger and be better as a team moving forward,” Markram added.
