Aiden Markram's flawless Proteas put unbeaten record on the line in Eden Gardens semi-final

In the entire history of the T20 World Cup only one team has become champions without losing a match. The unbeaten Proteas will be hoping they can now emulate India’s feat of two years ago heading into Wednesday’s first semi-final against New Zealand at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

Any wriggle room that might have existed during the group stages and Super Eights have now been terminated with a defeat between now and Sunday ending their dreams of a first-ever white-ball World Cup trophy.

This has not been lost on their captain, Aiden Markram, but instead of focusing on the pressure associated with being ranked favourites against a side they thrashed by seven wickets during the group stages, he prefers to sit on the side that his team is playing with a great deal of confidence. 

“Yeah, I don't know how it's going to work out tomorrow night, none of us do, but you can look at it through various different lenses,” Markram said.

“If you want to look at it through that (pressure) lens, then I don't think you'd be a very clever man if you're sitting in our changing room. 

“I think you want to look at it from a side where you bring in a lot of confidence into a must-win game and a lot of trust in the plans and the things that we've been doing well. It's as simple as that for us, we're not trying to do anything different.

“We had a good run out against them in the group stages but yeah both teams have played a lot of cricket since then.

“It's a completely fresh start and it being the semi-final, which is exciting as well, so I don't think it's as straightforward as just being able to repeat that again. I wish cricket was that easy.

“A lot of variables in this game but the boys are very excited for the opportunity to play in a semi-final against a good team like New Zealand and yeah, we'll try to bring our best game to the front again.”

The Proteas certainly know what they are about. They have placed their trust in an in-form seam bowling unit, made selections designed to fit the surface and the opposition at hand, have superb batting combinations, and most importantly they trust each other. 

But for all this, the feeling still exists that for the Proteas to progress to a second successive ICC T20 World Cup final, they will need their skipper to lead from the front. 

Markram is his team’s top run-scorer - 268 runs at an average of 53.60 and strike-rate of 175.16 - and third overall in the competition. It was also his undefeated 86 off 44 balls that was the Black Caps’ kiss of death on Valentine’s Day in the group stages encounter in Ahmedabad. 

It’s not only his runs that the Proteas feed off, but his infectious energy out in the field. He leads a brotherhood of men and fiercely backs each one of them, like when fast bowler Lungi Ngidi was needlessly asked to remove a wrist band by Afghanistan batter Mohammad Nabi during a group game.

“Gebruik dit [use it], sy p*es man, gebruik dit, gebruik dit, sy p*es! (Use it, man, use it, use it — damn it!)” was Markram’s untamed response.

It’s this uninhibited passion that Markram, the leader, has had to temper whilst learning to combine it with the currency of scoring runs.

“It's something that I have fought with a lot over the years, the part in the captaincy and just being the batter while you're out there batting, but I think you as the captain always want to get the team over the line and maybe because of that you don't put all your focus into actually just watching the ball and reacting and playing,” he said.

“But yeah, the little bit I've learned now from this World Cup and the more recent months is to make a proper effort to separate the two and if you do your job as a batter for the team, ultimately it will contribute hopefully in a winning cause and that's where I try to keep the focus.”

The Proteas’ captain has matured since the last T20 World Cup. And so has the rest of the team. They now just have to go out there and show it, and there’s no better place than an Eden Gardens cauldron to prove it. 

SQUADS FOR EDEN GARDENS SEMI-FINAL

South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith and Tristan Stubbs.

New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), Finn Allen, Cole McConchie, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi.

Start: 3:30pm TV: SuperSport