Player ratings: How the Proteas fared at the T20 World Cup

Captain Aiden Markram in action for South Africa at the T20 World Cup in India. Picture: Surjeet Yadav/ICC/Getty Images Entering the semifinals at the T20 World Cup, the Proteas had gone unbeaten, and while they were crushed by New Zealand in their play-off clash, they dominated the tournament ahead of the knockout stages. We rate each of the players in thenational squadwho competed at the biennial showpiece in India.

The top-order batter led from the front, showing his class not only as a player but as the captain of the side. When Markram hit his straps, the rest of the team fed off him, and he did well to bash 286 runs in eight games at a strike rate of 165.31, including three half-centuries. After returning to the national side last year, De Kock had been superb, and he was expected to be a standout performer at the global spectacle.

He was not at his best, however, contributing 181 runs with only one fifty, though his presence in the squad would have been valuable behind the scenes. Like De Kock, fellow top-order batter Rickelton made only one half-century, but he performed consistently well and made some valuable contributions. He hit more than 30 runs in five of the Proteas’ eight games, racking up a total of 228 throughout the tournament at an impressive strike rate of 170.14.

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As the team’s X-factor player, a lot was expected from the big-hitting batter, who can take the game away from any team when he’s at his best. His overall performance was rather average but he was consistent, making 207 runs at a strike rate of 146.80. He just didn’t stand up the way we know he can. The experienced middle-order batter hit 174 runs at a strike rate of 155.35.

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