Proteas peaking at right time: Shukri Conrad embraces favourites tag ahead of World Cup semi-final

South Africa coach Shukri Conrad believes the Proteas are peaking at the right time after sealing a hard-fought ICC Men's T20 World Cup Super Eight victory over Zimbabwe to remain unbeaten, as attention shifts to their semi-final clash with New Zealand at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday.

“Job done,” Conrad said, after the five-wicket win at Arun Jaitly Stadium in Delhi where they  successfully chased down Zimbabwe's total of 153/7 in the 18th over.

“We wanted to finish the day properly and get something out of it. I think we pretty much did.”

While the win over Zimbabwe was not entirely straightforward – South Africa losing three wickets in the powerplay on a tricky surface – Conrad was encouraged by the composure his batting unit. showed.

“It wasn’t plain sailing,” he admitted. “But I don’t think it was the easiest wicket to bat on.

"We pride ourselves on assessing conditions and understanding what the surface allows us to do. But then again you just felt that once David (Miller) and Brievy (Dewald Brevis) got their partnership together it settled things, and Stubbo's (Tristan Stubbs') job is to finish games and he's done that really well for us

“There’s a calmness in the batting group that, whatever the situation, someone will step up.”

That composure, Conrad believes, is rooted in experience and the Proteas appear comfortable with the weight of expectation.

“We’re probably favourites because we’re the only unbeaten side left,” Conrad said.

“The semi-final is pressure enough. Playing New Zealand is pressure enough. There’s no added pressure beyond that.

“I’m glad we’re favourites. As a South African team, you want to be able to handle that tag. It’s easy being the underdog – expectations aren’t as high. Now we’ve assumed it, and we’ll embrace it.”

A major pillar of South Africa’s campaign has been their pace attack. Rather than rely on mystery spin, the Proteas have backed what Conrad calls the country’s traditional strength: high-quality fast bowling.

“South African cricket has always had fast bowlers – guys who can bowl 145km/h-plus,” he said. “We might not have left our shores with a mystery spinner, but we’ve got a ‘mystery seamer’ in Lungi Ngidi, who can operate in the powerplay and middle overs.

“With KG (Kagiso Rabada) and Marco (Jansen), their impact is through taking wickets. That’s how we’ve fashioned our attack – to create wicket-taking options. And at the death, we’ve nailed our yorkers and change-ups.”

There are minor fitness concerns, with Jansen reportedly under the weather and Kagiso Rabada carefully managed, while a blow to the head of batter Ryan Rickelton on Sunday was also cause for concern. But Conrad expects a refreshed squad for the semi-final after a travel day and rest period.

Having reached multiple ICC knockouts in recent years, including the last T20 World Cup final, Conrad believes persistence will eventually yield silverware.

“If you keep making semi-finals and finals, eventually you’ll win one. If you don’t make them, you can’t win anything,” he said. “Right now, we’ve given ourselves a 25% chance. Hopefully, by Wednesday night, that becomes 50%.

“We’ll need a bit of luck along the way. But if we keep doing what we’re doing, hopefully we can go all the way.”

* Rowan Callaghan is Independent Media's general sports reporter, with a passion for the English Premier League. He is also a senior contributor for our YouTube channel The Clutch