Du Plessis baffled by South Africa World T20 failure

Omnisports

March 27, 2016 1:45 AM

Faf du Plessis was left counting the cost of a crucial opening loss to England after South Africa's World Twenty20 exit.

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South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has been left baffled by the Proteas' World Twenty20 exit at the Super 10 phase.

The Proteas finished their tournament with a commanding eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a Group 1 dead rubber in Delhi on Monday with both teams having already failed to qualify for the knockout stages.

Du Plessis was left to rue crucial moments in the tournament, including the failure to defend 229-4 against England in their opening match.

"I'm very baffled. [Not defending] 230 in that first game [was crucial]. Yes, we were to blame, we didn't bowl well," he said at the post-match presentation.

"It's almost like, what do we need to do? Afghanistan were a dangerous team and we beat them. We didn't do well against West Indies either. It feels like one of our nightmares where you are struggling to put your pads on, this tournament.

"The first game we should have won it, if you play that 230 game 10 times in a row, you would've lost one. West Indies again, it was just small mistakes.

"It's everything for us [winning a World Cup]. I'll do all I can to play another."

South Africa easily chased down a target of 121 after Sri Lanka were bowled out for a paltry 120 on Monday.

Spinner Aaron Phangiso (2-26) won Man of the Match after taking the wickets of Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne in successive balls to halt Sri Lanka's quick start in which they made 45-0 after four overs.

"It's been a bit tough, we prepared well coming from home and I think we just needed luck on our side," Phangiso said.

"We gave it our all and we tried to make South Africa proud. It was tough to play what you call a dead rubber. But we play for our country and we are very proud to represent it."

Omnisports