South Africa's head coach, Shukri Conrad, rejected the notion that his team "choked" in their Twenty20 World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand. Instead, he described their nine-wicket defeat at Eden Gardens as a significant "walloping."
Despite entering the match as the tournament's only unbeaten team, South Africa was comprehensively outplayed. New Zealand's Finn Allen scored an unbeaten century, leading his team to victory with over seven overs to spare.
Conrad stated, "Tonight was not a choke. I thought it was a bloody walloping." He explained that a "choke" implies a chance to win was lost, which he felt was not the case in this instance. He also used the Afrikaans term "snotklap," meaning "a real hiding."
He acknowledged the team's previous successes and expressed pride in their journey to the semi-finals, especially given expectations prior to the tournament. However, Conrad conceded that New Zealand's bowlers performed exceptionally well, restricting South Africa's batting to a non-competitive total of 169-8. "We didn't post anything close to what would have been competitive," he admitted.
Player-of-the-match Finn Allen credited New Zealand's bowlers for setting up the win and highlighted his strong opening partnership with Tim Seifert.