South Africa scraped past England in a Super Eight clash on Friday, June 21 at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St. Lucia to stake their claim for the semis of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
With just 14 required to win off the last over, the South African fans had their hearts in their mouth but Anrich Nortje held his nerve to deny the defending champions a dream finish.
While Nortje deserves all the credit for conceding just six runs in the last over, it was Aiden Markram who helped him get rid of the dangerous man Harry Brook.
Markram galloped towards the boundary rope from mid-on to take a stunning catch and put an end to Brook's enterprising knock of 53 off 37 balls.
Markram knew the importance of Brook's wicket and was grateful more than anything else after pulling it off.
"I'm grateful it stuck! Your mind races as a captain and you find yourself drifting in the field - but happy to hold onto it. It certainly made a difference," said Markram during the post-match presentation.
Markram believes that the Proteas have played impressive cricket thus far in the tournament but are yet to get to their peak.
"As a whole, I'd say we're getting closer to that complete game of cricket. We're not there just yet but we're getting there," he mentioned.
The South African skipper lauded his bowlers for their skills and for the fight they displayed against the Three Lions when the odds were stacked heavily against them.
The seven-run win over the defending champions has propelled the South Africans to the top of the points table in Group 2 with four points. Their net run rate (NRR) is 0.625 - the best in the group.
England are second on the table with two points in as many games.
