World Twenty20: South Africa not chokers, says de Villiers

Proteas, India clash in another must-win match tonight.

COLOMBO: South Africa’s limited-overs captain AB de Villiers insists his side are not chokers, despite tottering on the brink of elimination in the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka as they go up against India today.

Their fate hangs by a slim lifeline, with the side needing to beat India by a huge margin and hope Australia deliver a similar treatment to Pakistan.

“I would not say we choked, we were just pretty much outplayed from ball one onwards,” said de Villiers. “It’s hard to put my finger on it. We started badly and finished badly as well. So, there is a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. It’s not all over yet. We are not the kind of team that will give up quickly. We will come back and try and improve, we will have to improve.”

South Africa have looked jaded after being on the road for three months, having flown to Sri Lanka from an arduous tour of England where they took over as the number one Test side in the world.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Shane Watson admitted he was surprised how South Africa continued to flounder in big events.

“Every tournament we go into, they’ve got an unbelievably strong side,” said Watson. “They’ve just got an amazing amount of talent.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2012.