Coach Rob Walter of South Africa said that his side has not been defeated by close calls in the past and that they would “take confidence” from their performance in pivotal times as they advance to the current T20 World Cup semifinals.

Afghanistan’s achievements in the tournament, capped off by a stunning victory over heavyweight Australia, have generated quite a stir. The perennial dark horses of South Africa will face this Afghanistan squad in the first semi-final of the competition on Thursday.

Walter was asked whether this might be South Africa’s moment at the pre-match news conference.

Over the previous two weeks, they had fought their way past challenging opponents in difficult circumstances. It’s always wonderful to dream, and I believe that everyone in South Africa imagines the moment when a trophy is raised. That will undoubtedly occur. It is unclear if that will happen this week.

“All we’re going to do is attempt to play the greatest cricket match possible. Furthermore, we still haven’t performed at our best,” Walter said to the press.

It is encouraging for South Africa to be able to overcome their weakness in the past—losing close games—if they want to win the World Cup for the first time. From a proximity perspective, yes, we have prevailed in a good number of tight games leading up to the semifinal, which has been fantastic for us.

We were able to cross the line this time, even if we may have missed a number of those occasions in the past. We definitely get confidence from it. In the crucial parts of the match tomorrow, we still want to play our best cricket,” Walter said.

It is encouraging for South Africa to be able to overcome their weakness in the past—losing close games—if they want to win the World Cup for the first time. From a proximity perspective, yes, we have prevailed in a good number of tight games leading up to the semifinal, which has been fantastic for us.

We were able to cross the line this time, even if we may have missed a number of those occasions in the past. We definitely get confidence from it. In the crucial parts of the match tomorrow, we still want to play our best cricket,” Walter said.