A heartbroken Aiden Markram was left trying to make sense of an agonising seven-run defeat to India, in the final of the T20 World Cup in Bridgetown on Saturday.
Needing 30 runs from 30 balls with Heinrich Klaasen (having just smashed 22 runs off Axar Patel) on 49 and David Miller 12, South Africa systematically fell away in their chase of 177 to win their first-ever Cricket World Cup crown.
Klaasen fell after scoring just three more runs, and Miller finally departed for 21 off the first ball of the final over to hand India the win.
Markram who was unable to contribute much with the bat after being dismissed for four, was forced to watch from the sidelines as his side came up short.
‘’Incredibly proud’
"Gutted for the time being, it'll take some time to reflect on a really good campaign. It hurts quite a bit, but I’m incredibly proud. We bowled well, it was not a lot to work with, it was a chaseable total. We batted well as it came down to the wire, but we’re gutted not to get over the line,” said Markram afterwards.
“It's not over ’til the last ball is over, we never got comfortable, things happen quickly at the back end, but we got into a great position to prove we were worthy finalists.
“South Africans are competitive, respectful and will go down with a fight. It's still a proud moment for us.”
Though South Africa were on track for the win against favourites India in the final, on the whole it was still an outstanding campaign by the Proteas as it was their first loss of the World Cup. They were outstanding under pressure, without ever completely dominating their opposition until their semi-final against Afghanistan.
In fact, South Africa recorded eight wins in the tournament - the same number as champions India who had a game rained out.
The Proteas arrive back in South Africa on Wednesday.