Proteas surge but Markram wary of peaking early

“Is your team peaking too soon?” Aiden Markram was asked after a second enormous win in the Super Eights phase, this time against the West Indies on Thursday.

The Proteas captain sniggered. “That’s hard to say … we are taking it game by game and trying to tackle it head-on and see where it gets us.”

South Africa have looked the best of the teams still remaining in the competition, and a 76-run win against tournament favourites India followed by a nine-wicket thumping of a West Indies side, which had been in excellent form through the group stage and during their huge win against Zimbabwe, is certain to garner attention.

Sunday’s victory against India was impressive in the way it was achieved: bouncing back from 20/3 to set 188 and then producing arguably the best bowling performance of the competition in defence thereof.

But this is a fickle format and a tough tournament, and it can all blow up in South Africa’s faces quickly, something Markram also acknowledged.

“The guys put in a really good performance against India and the next day you wake up and think, ‘geez, this could still all be over in the next few days.’ It is seriously cutthroat, a high level of cricket, but the intensity and energy that drains you is quite big. You need to stay on your toes. Keep locking in to why you are here ultimately.”

Which is exactly what the Proteas did in their fifth match at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday. They paid close attention to conditions (again), this time playing on a red-soil-based pitch ― as opposed to a black-soil pitch that was used on Sunday ― and opted to bowl first, having batted against India.

The pitch suited the kind of bowlers Markram has at his disposal: tall quicks who can extract more bounce and use what little nip there was off the seam during the power play. Yet, they had to be accurate against an aggressive West Indies side, whose captain, Shai Hope, bashed two sixes in the first over ― bowled surprisingly by Keshav Maharaj.

“Because of the [pronounced] seam with the new ball, it felt like it nipped; there was extra bounce, and with our boys, you need to use that when it’s on offer,” said Markram.

But South Africa, like the West Indies, knew the pitch was a belter. The problem for the West Indies was that they wanted to prove that too soon and lost four wickets in the power play.

Three more followed in the next four overs, leaving them running uphill against a gale-force wind. To be fair to Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd ― who shared a world record eighth-wicket partnership worth 89 runs ― they managed that journey superbly.

But the majestic Lungi Ngidi, bowling dipping slow balls, and Corbin Bosch, with toe-crushing yorkers, conceded just 13 runs in the last two overs, leaving the West Indies well short of a par score.

“You can get frustrated when you have a team seven down. But you have to look at the bigger picture and understand the reason why [they are having a big partnership]. Is it poor bowling, good batting, or has the wicket become really good?

“They played really well; they are two massive humans, and their mis-hits go for six. It makes it tough. I thought 180; you still need to bat well, but the wicket just got better, so it didn’t feel like it was too much of a stretch,” said Markram.

With victories over New Zealand, India and the West Indies ― in addition to beating Afghanistan narrowly ― the Proteas have knocked off some very good teams. However, Markram is wary of complacency setting in, especially with the most important part of the competition still ahead.

“It doesn’t feel easy. The boys in every meeting, every game, are fully locked in,” he said.

“We’ve been on good and bad sides at World Cups, and [playing well now] is not something this group will take for granted. The guys have a lot of pride and are on a mission to try and achieve something.”