“Losing Morne Morkel in 34th over was a big blow for South Africa,” said Proteas skipper AB De Villiers. He said that he was quite sure other lads would pull it off for their team but sadly that didn’t happened and India registered a comfortable win by 26 runs.
He was quoted by Indian Express saying, “Losing Morne Morkel in the 34th over of the match due to a strain in the left leg was a "shock" because he was the lynchpin of our team's seam attack. But I still feel our boys fought back well to restrict India (to 331)...it could well have been 370." On Thursday evening, Morkel was rushed to a doctor for scans in his left quadriceps. He would take a maximum of seven days to recover, according to the South African team doctor.
De Villiers added, "South Africa lost key batsmen like Robin Peterson and David Miller to silly run outs. Peterson's exit at the team score of 155 for three proved to be a turning point.”
South African skipper was quoted by Times of India saying, "The runs outs proved to be costly but you can't do much about them. When the players are trying to do their best and your heart is pumping, the heat of the battle makes you make errors."
He added, "Our energy levels were quite high.”
But he made it quite clear that this time Proteas are here to lift the ICC Champions Trophy. He was quoted by DNA saying, “We have to win our next two matches because in a short tournament, there is no margin for errors. We come here to win all games and we will take a lot of positives from the defeat against India.”
Dale Steyn, the spearhead of South African bowling was ruled out of this match and is looking doubtful to make it to the playing XI against Pakistan that is to be played on Monday.
"We will assess the situation every day and then hope for the best, but missing both Steyn and Morkel will be a massive blow," De Villiers concluded.