South Africa faced a heavy setback at the hands of New Zealand in the T20 World Cup semifinal, a result that was far from what they had expected after defeating India in the Super 8. Head coach Shukri Conrad bluntly referred to it as a ‘bloody drubbing’.

“I’m not sure if it was a choke. To me, it felt like a bloody thrashing. For it to be a choke, you need to have been in the game at some point,” he said.

“We didn’t get a chance. In South Africa, we’d say we got ‘moered,’ which is a local term for getting a real thrashing.

In Afrikaans, the term “snotklap” describes a look that makes you resemble someone who’s just been slapped.”

South Africa never got any momentum. Offspinner Cole McConchie struck early, removing Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton, as they limped to 77/5.

“They tightened the screws early on, we kept losing wickets, and we never found any rhythm,” Conrad added.

“A lot of things went wrong m, but that was mainly because they played so well and never gave us a chance. I’m not going to make excuses for a poor performance. We weren’t good, and they were outstanding.”

Conrad also praised New Zealand and pointed out that the wicket made it tougher for the Proteas.

“The quality of the bowling, combined with the pitch, made it difficult for us. If you’re suggesting a lack of calmness due to the semi-final pressure, I don’t think that was the case,” he mentioned.

“New Zealand were outstanding. They gave us nothing and applied tremendous pressure. Their spinners were exceptional, especially given the conditions,” he added.

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