Nepal put us under a lot of pressure, it shows the quality they have: Aiden Markram

Nepal were on the verge of pulling an upset over South Africa in the ongoing T20 World Cup but missed it by the barest of margins as the Rohit Paudel-led side fell just one run short. The Proteas avoided embarrassment and should treat the win as a warning ahead of the Super 8 of the competition. With a win, Nepal would have been in the race to make it to the next round but the loss eliminated them from the tournament.

However, South Africa captain Aiden Markram was impressed with Nepal’s performance and acknowledged that the team put them under a lot of pressure and added that they have got a lot of quality in the ranks. Chasing 116 runs, keeper-batter Aasif Sheikh made 42 runs while Anil Sah hit 27 runs as Nepal lost the game on the final delivery of the match. Kushal Bhurtel, on the other hand, was the star with the ball, picking up four wickets.

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“They (Nepal) bowled really well and made it tough for us. They put us under a lot of pressure and it shows the quality they have. Mix that with a lack of conviction in our dressing room so there’s a lot of learnings for us,” Markram said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Markram shares update on Keshav Maharaj’s availability

South Africa dropped Keshav Maharaj for Tabraiz Shamsi against Nepal. It was a strange call given Maharaj’s impact in the tournament so far but after the match, Markram clarified that they wanted to give Shamsi some game time ahead of the Super 8. The 29-year-old added that Maharaj is fit and will play an important role for South Africa in the coming days and also added that he misread the pitch and should have played both spinners.

“No injury to Keshav (Maharaj), Shamsi hadn’t played in a while, thought this was a great opportunity to get him some game time. In hindsight, we should’ve played both spinners,” Markram said.

Notably, Shamsi picked up four wickets against Nepal and was adjudged Player of the Match.