Du Plessis rues costly mistakes after early World T20 exit

New Delhi: South Africa T20 captain Faf du Plessis has attributed his side’s failure to reach the semifinals of the World Twenty20 to costly mistakes committed during league games against England and West Indies.

Despite entering the tournament as one of the favourites, South Africa once again failed to live up to their reputation as they lost a high-scoring game against England before losing a low-scoring affair against West Indies.

South Africa finished third in Group 1 after claiming an eight-wicket consolation victory over defending champions Sri Lanka in New Delhi on Monday.

“It is very bittersweet to be going back to South Africa after the World T20. It was not where we wanted to be. We’ve only got ourselves to blame,” du Plessis was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

“We played good cricket leading up to the tournament and we were consistent in the subcontinent, but a World T20 is a do-or-die tournament

“If you make mistakes, it’s not like a series where you can come back into the series. We made one or two mistakes against England and they punished us for it. Against West Indies, we made one or two mistakes as well. The teams in a T20 world cup are so close to each other, if you’re not on top of your game, teams will punish you. Tonight was a good example. Sri Lanka made one or two mistakes in their batting, and we capitalised,” he said. (ANI)