TimesofIndia.com in New Delhi: South Africa remains unbeaten in the T20 World Cup. Barring the double super over against Afghanistan, they have crushed top teams including India, whom they defeated by 76 runs. South Africa are looking to shake off the ‘suffocation’ tag as they build on a seven-game winning streak.
The label’s legacy has stayed with the Proteas for the past two decades. It started with losing to Australia in the 1999 World Cup and continued until the 2024 T20 World Cup, losing to India in the Caribbean final.
Now, the reigning World Test Championship champions are set to defeat their opponents in the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. They continued their winning streak with a five-wicket win over Zimbabwe on Sunday. Coach Shukri Konrad was asked if this would bring pressure and that dreaded feeling of suffocation?
“There’s always pressure. I think it depends on how you deal with it and how you deflect it. As for the C-word [chokers]I think there is another way to say it – “cupcake”. I’m sure we love that,” Conrad said.
The cupcake reference is related to a TV ad on the eve of India’s Super Eight match against South Africa, where an Indian fan jokingly told South African supporters to “repeat history in the 2024 T20 World Cup” while teasing them with cupcakes. But after South Africa’s resounding win over India in Ahmedabad, this sarcastic sentiment was reversed.
“No, there’s always pressure and it’s really about embracing that pressure. We’re not going to do anything different. We’re going to prepare for New Zealand exactly the same way. Are we the favorites? Probably because we’re the only unbeaten team in the tournament. But I don’t know if that adds to the pressure,” Conrad continued.
“I think there’s enough pressure in the semi-finals. There’s enough pressure in New Zealand against tough teams. So there’s no extra pressure.
“I’m happy we’re favorites because I’ve always felt as a South African team you want to be favorites because it’s so easy to be underdogs. The expectations aren’t high. But if we can keep doing what we’re doing then we’re going to need a little bit of luck along the way as well.”
“Hopefully this will get us a result on Wednesday and then back to our ‘home’ in Ahmedabad,” he finished cheekily.