South Africa in a World Cup final? Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada have been here before

Perennial underachievers have a shot at glory when they face India in T20 World Cup final, and two of them know what it feels like to win

Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada have experience of World Cup finals having led South Africa to victory in the U19 tournament in 2014. Getty Images

South Africa might be in uncharted territory when they take on serial contenders India in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados on Saturday.

Famously, the Proteas tend to find creative ways to stumble when the finale to major competitions is in sight.

Their thrashing of Afghanistan in Trinidad was the first time they have won in eight semi-finals in either of cricket’s World Cups.

There has been the indignity of Allan Donald mishearing Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock misreading Duckworth-Lewis calculations, and Herschelle Gibbs dropping the World Cup altogether.

But not everyone in South African men’s cricket is weighed down by the past. In fact, two players in their starting XI for the final know what it takes to be a winner in a World Cup final.

“Knowing we are world champions is a special feeling and a blessed honour as well,” Aiden Markram said, speaking in the bowels of Dubai International Stadium back in 2014.

“I felt it was inevitable that it was eventually going to happen. We are just the lucky ones to be sitting here. I’m glad we could have done it for our country.”

Back then, the young South Africans had just trounced Pakistan to win the Under 19 World Cup, which had been staged in the UAE.

Markram himself was at the crease when victory was sealed and his team became pioneering world champs for their country. His ascent to senior international cricket was not entirely smooth, but one of his teammates went straight to the top level of the men’s game and has stayed there the whole time since.

It was clear to anyone who saw that tournament in the Emirates 10 years ago that Kagiso Rabada was destined for a fine career as a fast bowler.

He fired South Africa through to the final with a spell of quick bowling that devastated Australia in the semi-final in Dubai.

Markram even acknowledged at the time that he and his age-group colleagues used to try to find ways to avoid having to face Rabada in the nets.

“I tell the coach I’m not quite warmed up yet,” Markram said. “He is not easy to face in the nets, but it is good for us because it helps us improve as well.”

Now, a decade later, the two of them are tasked with helping make their country proud again on a far greater scale.

The likely lads

Each of the countries in Saturday’s final in Barbados have two players in their squads who played in the 2014 Under 19 World Cup in Dubai.

While South Africa took that title, India finished fifth with a side that included a number of players who have made their name in the men’s game, such as Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan and Deepak Hooda, in addition to two others who are in Barbados now.

South Africa

Aiden Markram – Named player of the tournament in Dubai, having made two hundreds to help South Africa to the final, as well as a half-century to win it against Pakistan. He was third in the run scorer charts behind Bangladesh’s Shadman Islam and Pakistan’s Imam-ul-Haq – and one place better than West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran.

Kagiso Rabada – He took the second most wickets in that tournament, behind Sri Lanka’s Anuk Fernando, but bowled easily the most memorable spell in it. Rabada’s haul of six for 25 to beat Australia in the semi-final announced him as a player of great promise, and he has scarcely looked back since.

India

Kuldeep Yadav – The left-arm wrist spinner was third in the wicket-taker chart, behind Fernando and Rabada, with 14 wickets. He was particularly punishing on non-Test sides, as he took four for 10 against Papua New Guinea and four for 28 against Scotland.

Sanju Samson – The Rajasthan Royals captain, who has been a non-playing reserve so far in the United States and Caribbean, was India’s outstanding batter in 2014. He made 267 runs in six matches, having previously played a key role in them winning the U19 Asia Cup in Sharjah.