South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad addressed the pressure ahead of the T20 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand following his team’s unbeaten run in the Super Eight stage, emphasising the importance of managing pressure rather than avoiding it. The Proteas secured a five-wicket victory over Zimbabwe at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium on March 1, maintaining their dominant form.
Conrad also responded with humour to a question about South Africa shedding their longstanding ‘chokers’ tag in ICC knockout stages by making a sly ‘cupcake’ remark, referencing a promotional clip aired before South Africa’s T20 World Cup Super Eight match against India involving a fan choking on a cupcake. “There is always pressure. I think it’s what you do with that pressure and how you shift the pressure. As for the C word, I think there’s another one for it, cupcakes. I thought we kind of enjoyed that. But no, there is always pressure, and it is really about embracing that pressure. And we do not do things any differently. We are going to prepare exactly the same way for New Zealand,” he said.
South Africa will play New Zealand at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on March 4 with the aim of capturing the T20 World Cup on Indian soil, a title that eluded them following defeat in the 2024 final in Barbados. Reflecting on their ICC World Test Championship victory against Australia last year, Conrad noted the boost in team confidence and morale.
Conrad acknowledged that starting as favourites might add pressure but insisted the semifinal itself is pressure enough against a strong New Zealand side. “I am glad that we are favourites because I always felt that as a South African team, you want to be able to play as a favourite because it is easy being an underdog. The expectation is not great or that much. And now we have assumed the tag which we do not really talk much about. But if we can continue doing what we are doing, then yeah, you need a little bit of luck along the way as well. And yeah, hopefully that will give us the result on Wednesday and then on to our home ground in Ahmedabad,” he added.
The coach highlighted the significance of their group stage match against Afghanistan, which went to two super overs and “pulled the group together.” He also said that while the team’s catching has been an area to improve, he would not be overly critical given their strong recent performances. “We’re playing some really good cricket and as has been the last couple of weeks we will double down on what we have done in the last couple of weeks and do that again over the next couple of days,” Conrad said.
Regarding South Africa’s run-chase against Zimbabwe, Conrad admitted it was not straightforward after losing three wickets in the powerplay. “I mean, lost the wicket early and then Aiden (Markram) followed suit, lost three wickets in the power play, which is never ideal. But I do not think the wicket was the easiest to bat on. And that is something that also we try and pride ourselves on, is assessing what the conditions are and what the wicket allows us to do. But then, again, you just felt that once David (Miller) and Brearby (Dewald Brevis) got that partnership together, and Stambo’s (Tristan Stubbs) job is to finish games, and he has done that really well for us. So, yeah, maybe not the most fluent and plain sailing one but I think we got a lot out of today,” he said.
Conrad praised Aiden Markram’s captaincy, saying he has been “at the forefront of everything they do.” Reflecting on South Africa’s consistent semifinal and final appearances, he encouraged optimism: “If you continually make semifinals and finals, eventually you’re going to win one. But if you do not make it, you can’t win anything. So, you’ve given us a 25 per cent chance now, if my math does not fail me. So, yeah, 25 per cent chance is what we have got now and then hopefully on Wednesday evening that will have gone up to about 50 per cent.”
In the match, Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first, reaching 153 for 7 in 20 overs. Skipper Sikandar Raza top-scored with 73 from 43 balls, supported by Clive Mandade’s 26. South African pacers Kwena Mapakha (2/21) and Corbin Bosch (2/40) were the leading wicket-takers.
During the run-chase, South Africa recovered from 43 for 3 with significant contributions from Ryan Rickelton (31), Dewald Brevis (42), and George Linde (30 not out), securing a five-wicket win in 17.5 overs.
