St John’s [Antigua], June 22 (ANI): Ahead of his side’s ICC T20 World Cup clash against West Indies, the South African spinner said that his side has managed to win some “small moments” in their six-match unbeaten run in the tournament, which has helped build the character of the team.
SA will be taking on WI in their Super Eights clash at Antigua. South Africa is at the top of the Group 2 in the points table, with two wins in two games. West Indies is at the second spot with one win and a loss, with two points. South Africa secured seven-run win over England in their previous encounter, while West Indies defeated the USA by nine wickets in their previous game. With England sitting in the third place with a win and loss, this match will be a must-win affair for West Indies.
Speaking ahead of the game, Maharaj said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, “If you look at previous World Cups, the small moments, we have not really won. It is good to see that all the games have come close and we have found a way, so it is building the character within the team. And it prepares us for certain opportunities that we could get and cross over the line in those small moments, [these] are things that we have never done before. So, it is good to see us getting into that.”
Four out of six matches won by South Africa have been close finishes, which includes a four-run win against Bangladesh, a last-ball win against Nepal by one run, an 18-run win against the USA and a seven-run win against England.
Maharaj also said that South Africa has tried its level best to put behind the hurt of the 50-over World Cup in India last year, where they lost in a closely contested semifinal to the champions Australia. He said that the team believes that it can do well as a unit.
“So, we just take it one game at a time and focus on trying to get the results to go our way and not looking at the negatives, just trying to highlight the positives as much as possible,” he added.
When SA takes on West Indies, their batting line-up will be battling spinners Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein, who have been the best bowlers in the tournament so far as far as spinners are concerned. SA also features star spinners like Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi.
“It is always a battle of the spinners. I am just going about my business. They have bowled exceptionally well in the tournament. I have watched quite a few spells of them, so obviously they are quite a dominant force as well. They [West Indies] have got a very strong batting line-up, but [I will] just try to stick true to my processes and my principles,” he said.
“It is more a case of focusing on each and every game, not getting too ahead of ourselves. We’ve been very focused on our processes and trying to win each and every game and letting the rest take care of itself,” he concluded.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs
West Indies: Rovman Powell (c), Alzarri Joseph, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd. (ANI)
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