CALCUTTA: South Africa captain Aiden Markram has said his team’s group-stage victory over New Zealand will count for nothing when the sides meet in the T20 World Cup semifinal, describing the knockout clash as a “completely fresh start.”
The two teams face off in the first semifinal at Eden Gardens today, with neither South Africa nor New Zealand having won a Cricket World Cup in either the 20-over or 50-over formats.
South Africa are the only unbeaten side in the last four, and are trying to rid themselves of a reputation for choking in the final stages at World Cups.
They have been the team to beat in this edition and got the better of New Zealand by seven wickets in a group game in Ahmedabad on February 15.
“We had a good run against them in the group stages, but both teams have played a lot of cricket since then,” Markram told reporters on Tuesday.
