South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada has claimed that there is no point in thinking about their luck in the knockout matches of ICC tournaments after their win against USA on June 19 in the T20 World Cup 2024. The Proteas have found themselves on the losing side in big matches, a trend that sort of started in the 1999 ODI World Cup. Since then, they have infamously earned the ‘chokers’ tag in the cricketing world after losing in knockout games.
The Proteas now have a 100 percent win record in the T20 World Cup 2024 as they beat USA by 18 runs. During the press conference, Rabada was asked if the team isn’t thinking about the curse of the knockouts at the moment. The pacer quickly said they’re taking this game by game and keeping their belief that they can head to the final and win.
“There’s no point in thinking about it. You just take it game by game and the belief is there. Belief is there. If you don’t have the belief then you might as well go pack your bags and go home. And whatever happens after that happens but the belief is there,” said Rabada.
The chase from the USA did come close in the end as Andries Gous scored 80 off 47 balls. Rabada first praised the South African batters for posting a good total of 194 in the end. Rabada also said that you never write anyone off and praised the USA side for their playing style in the tournament.
“The USA have been chasing well and that’s the reason why they chose to bowl first. I must commend our batting lineup, especially Quinton. And at the end of the day, we got a respectable total on the board, or more than a respectable total on the board, which gave us an opportunity to put them under pressure with the ball.”
“We got a couple of early wickets and then Andres batted extremely well and gave them a good chance and they came close in the end. You can never write any opposition off no matter who they’re playing for. The USA have been playing well, they beat Pakistan. So, hats off to the way they’re playing,” said Rabada.
South Africa will next face England in their second Super 8 clash on June 21.
