AB de Villiers: We are not chokers – Cricket News Update
Despite tottering on the brink of elimination in the ongoing http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 Championship in Sri Lanka, South African skipper insists his side has been unfairly tagged as chokers.
After finishing the group stage in an emphatic style, topping the Group C, which also included hosts http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045, the Proteas looked out of flair right from the start of the Super Eight stage. They lost their opening game of
the second round against Pakistan by two wickets, after having the game almost in their games, with Pakistan reeling at 76 for seven, while chasing 137 to win.
The Proteas then suffered a demoralising eight-wicket defeat at the hands of rampaging Australia, on Sunday, to hit rock bottom in Group 2, and are almost out of contention for the final fours.
Skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Allan-Robert-Border-c43726 de Villiers admitted that they were outclassed by the formidable Aussies throughout the match, he however shrugged off the suggestions that his side choked against Bailey’s men.
"I would not say we choked, we were just pretty much outplayed from ball one onwards," De Villiers said during a media encounter after the eight-wicket crushing in Colombo.
"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," the South African skipper went on to add.
The Proteas have a history of choking in global events. The only international title they had clinched in the history of cricket is the 1998 Champions Trophy. Since then they have regularly been branded as the perennial chokers of international
cricket, as they failed to win another global event despite always being among favourites.
In order to qualify for the World T20 semi-finals, the Black Caps would have to demolish Dhoni’s Men in Blue, and hope http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 by a huge margin.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AB-de-Villiers-c887 is confident his side would bounce back on Tuesday to grab an entry ticket to the tournament semis.
"It's not all over yet," said the wicketkeeper batsman. "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," he insisted.
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