'The Most Important Thing Is That We've Been Winning,' Says Proteas Pace Spearhead Kagiso Rabada

Ahmedabad: Kagiso Rabada has been the pace spearhead of the South African bowling ever since legendary Dale Steyn retired, and he has performed exceptionally well. But he had not fully arrived in the tournament until the Super Eight game against West Indies, when he breathed fire, taking 2 for 22 to overtake legendary Steyn and become his side's second-highest wicket-taker in the history of the ICC T20 World Cup. Rabada has 32 wickets in 28 innings at an average of 25.46, as compared to Steyn's 30 wickets.

Before the game, he had just two wickets in five games in the tournament and had been expensive by his standards. However, he had also been unlucky to be at the receiving end of drop catches and luck eluding him at times.

"That's just the game of cricket. How many times does it actually go for you, and how many times does it not? More often than not, it goes for you. Unfortunately, now it hasn't been, but the most important thing is that we've been winning," Rabada reacted to four dropped catches on his bowling in the tournament during an interaction with the media on Thursday.

His previous wickets were against Canada and Afghanistan. In fact, he took a wicket against Afghanistan on the no-ball, giving Noor Ahmed a free hit when Afghanistan should have been all-out. Noor took full advantage to tie the match, but Proteas eventually prevailed after two super overs.

"I'm glad we won that game against Afghanistan. Otherwise, I would have blamed myself for sure. On the positive side, I made it interesting, but if we had lost that game, I would have taken it quite heavily, to be honest," Rabada admitted.

Rabada delivered when the West Indies were threatening to take away the game with a rapid start of 29 in two overs. He dismissed Shai Hope and dangerous Shimron Hetmyer in his first over to put the Caribbean side on the back foot. Lungi Ngidi, who has been a revelation in the tournament with his variations, followed with another double strike to further derail the Windies' innings. He has been their leading wicket-taker.

"I'm extremely happy for Lungs (Lungi Ngidi). He's been under quite a lot of scrutiny over the past two to five years, and that's what you have to deal with as an athlete. I'm incredibly proud of how he's actually turned that around for himself. And I'm extremely happy for him. He's a good friend of mine."

Talking about Ngidi's variations, especially the cutters, Rabada said. "It's incredibly hard. Everyone's just asking him, 'What do you do, what do you do?' And he says it's really simple, but it's difficult."

South Africa has played as a team with everyone stepping in when needed. Against India, David Miller led the charge, and against the West Indies, skipper Aiden Markram stood firm. Pacers Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch have also stepped up when needed. The leading wicket-taker for Proteas in T20 WC history is pacer Anrich Nortje, with 37 wickets in 20 matches, who has been warming the bench mostly, showing the depth they possess in pace bowling.

"That's a good sign. We've got a pretty experienced team, mixed up with a bunch of young players as well. If you look at how everyone's been going in recent times, you take confidence out of their individual performances, and that's been translating into the games

Everyone has a different strength. And that's what makes us unique as cricketers. All we're going to do is try our best," he added.