<\/p>\nListen to this article<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span>4 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<\/button>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>South Africa captain Aiden Markram says his team\u2019s win over New Zealand in the group phase will count for nothing in the T20 World Cup semifinal, which will be a \u201ccompletely fresh start\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The two teams clash at Kolkata\u2019s Eden Gardens in the first semifinal on Wednesday, with both having never lifted a cricket World Cup in either the 20-over or 50-over formats.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>South Africa are the only unbeaten side in the last four, and are trying to rid themselves of a reputation for choking in the final stages at World Cups.<\/p>\n<p>They have been the team to beat in this edition and got the better of New Zealand by seven wickets in a group game in Ahmedabad on February 15.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a good run against them in the group stages, but both teams have played a lot of cricket since then,\u201d Markram told reporters on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a completely fresh start [on Wednesday] and it being a semifinal, which is exciting as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s as straightforward as just being able to repeat that. We\u2019ll try to bring our best game to the front again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>South Africa suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the 2024 T20 World Cup final against India in Barbados, when they needed 30 off 30 balls with six wickets and lost by seven runs after a clatter of wickets.<\/p>\n<p>The Proteas beat India and the West Indies in the Super Eight to have many marking them down as the favourites to lift the trophy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith regards to being favourites or not, that\u2019s all different people\u2019s opinions,\u201d said Markram.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUs as a team really just try to focus on putting good games of cricket together and playing that exciting brand that we\u2019ve been trying to play for the last 18 months or so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Markram has led South Africa from the front with 268 runs, including three half-centuries and a top score of 86 not out in seven matches.<\/p>\n<p>He holds an impressive captaincy record of 15 wins in 16 T20 World Cup matches, with the only defeat in the 2024 final.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe senior guys in the team, we lean on them a lot. They help guide you and lead you when you have a few doubts,\u201d said Markram.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think because of that and a really strong group of players over the years, we\u2019ve developed that. Fortunately, it reflects well, but it\u2019s definitely a reflection on the group as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"new-zealand-back-themselves-as-outsiders-for-t20-world-cup\">New Zealand \u2018back themselves\u2019 as outsiders for T20 World Cup<\/h2>\n<p>Underdogs New Zealand, meanwhile, back themselves against anyone in \u201cone-off games\u201d, according to captain Mitchell Santner.<\/p>\n<p>Santner admitted that Markram\u2019s unbeaten South Africa were \u201cvery good\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand have lost twice at this edition, also falling to England in the Super Eight, and squeaked into the semifinals on net run-rate ahead of Pakistan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether you want to call us the underdogs or not, I think for us it is everyone\u2019s goal throughout the tournament to get to this stage,\u201d Santner told reporters at Eden Gardens.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are here now, and we back ourselves on one-off games against most teams, being able to adapt as quick as we can to what\u2019s in front of us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSouth Africa look like a very good outfit as they have shown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess they are in the same boat as us now, it is one game, and you are into the final,\u201d said the left-arm spinner.<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand will be playing their fourth semi-final in the last five T20 World Cups. They reached the final in 2021 but lost to Australia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is probably two teams that have been in and around it for a long time. We know the heartbreak of South Africa two years ago,\u201d Santner added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is whoever turns up on the day, whoever sees the conditions the best.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand are the only semifinalist to lose more than once in the tournament and defeated only two Test-playing nations on the way to the last four \u2013 Afghanistan and cohosts Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe haven\u2019t played the perfect game throughout this tournament,\u201d said Santner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a good thing for us. If we can put it all together, it can put us in a pretty good position.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no real hiding or secrets about what South Africa are going to bring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know they are probably going to roll out the same team and a very good team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry returned home for the birth of his second child after the defeat to England in Colombo on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Santner said the bowler would arrive back later Tuesday night.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019ll obviously have a little run around in the morning to see if he\u2019s ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a04 mins info South Africa captain Aiden Markram says his team\u2019s win over New Zealand in the group phase will count for nothing in the T20 World Cup semifinal, which will be a \u201ccompletely fresh start\u201d. The two teams clash at Kolkata\u2019s Eden Gardens in the first semifinal on Wednesday, with both […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}